el paso school district may seek funding for new facility upgrades

El Paso voters in November could be called upon to pass a $242 million bond to pay for a series of long-planned facility upgrades and improvements.

The bond question for the El Paso Independent School District, which first has to be approved by the district’s school board, comes after a much larger $668 million bond was passed by voters four years ago.

If approved, the new bond will fund an upgrade of athletic facilities across the district, as well as a system-wide conversion in the district’s schools to refrigerated air. According to estimates, the refrigerated air project would take up $145 million of the $242 million bond.

The earlier bond, in 2016, not only paid for similar facility upgrades, but also the building of new schools.

Despite the fact that district voters in the past have obviously been supportive of EPISD bond proposals, some concern has been expressed regarding the prospects for a big bond in the current economic environment.

As it is, the $242 million proposed bond is smaller than an earlier version this year that also looked at upgrading projects at schools that may eventually be subject to consolidation.

Founded in 1882, the EPISD is the largest school district in El Paso with just over eighty elementary, middle, and high schools.
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The new bond, if passed, would also fund the installation of LED lighting in all of the district’s schools. Additional projects will see field house renovations at six high schools, not to mention the installation of synthetic turf at all of the district’s twelve high schools.

By Garry Boulard

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