KISD plans $40 million bond issue

The Kingsville Independent School District board of trustees authorized KISD administrators to proceed with a bond election of $40 million at a special meeting held Friday morning.

The bond election has been set for May 8, and if the bond is voter approved, the funds will be used for a new high school.

KISD Superintendent Emilio Castro said a facilities exploratory committee will be designated and meetings are planned throughout the city to share information.

KISD is in the process of scheduling meetings at each school campus and KISD departments beginning this week.

Karen Griffith, KISD Chief Administrative Officer, explained that 43 percent of the $40 million bond would be paid through state funds from the state’s Instructional Facilities Allotment.

This would leave 57 percent of the cost to taxpayers of the district, yielding an average tax increase of 17 cents per $100 property valuation.

This would mean a tax increase of about $161 per year to the average homeowner.

“In listening to our community over the last eight months, it has become an important priority to ensure the students of Kingsville have their needs addressed,” Castrol said.

The current state of our high school is one of those key priorities.

“In 2007, a facilities study was conducted, revealing that the high school, built in 1963 has become functionally obsolete,” Castro said.

“We have the opportunity to address this need with substantial state assistance,” Castro said.