Hallsville School District is expecting voters’ support as it puts the school bond issue on a ballot for the third time. The April 2 ballot issue would increase the school tax levy by about 5 cents to finance a $2 million bond, down from the $4.3 million the district asked for last April and August.
Hallsville School District Superintendent John Robertson says at least well over half of the $2 million will go toward tearing down and replacing the science and health & fitness classrooms. He estimates about $300,000 - 500,000 will be used on security cameras, entrances and other safety improvements.
“Certainly the tragedy in Sandy Hook in December really brought all those things to life," Robertson said." So in our public meetings, we had a lot of discussions about the security in our buildings and certainly there are some things we need to do to make that better."
The vice president of the Parent Teacher Organization Shanda Nichols says as a parent, safety is the biggest issue on her mind. Another concern Nichols has is the outdated equipment in the current science classrooms and labs. The last upgrade was back in 1980.
"I’m sure there have been a lot of improvements since 1980 to 2012," Nichols said. "So we are looking at basically bringing all that up to current technologies. And our kids need that in order to go on and go to college."
Nichols says the bad weather a few days earlier has postponed the plan to reach out to the community, but she is confident that voters will support the ballot this time.