WACO, Texas — Construction on a brand new G.W. Carver Middle School could begin as early as next spring after the $355 million Waco ISD bond proposition passed on Tuesday.
The bond will be used to pay for the reconstruction of four schools: Waco High School, G.W. Carver Middle School, Tennyson Middle School and Kendrick Elementary School. South Waco Elementary school will also undergo renovations.
G.W. Carver Middle School's construction timeline was pushed up as a first priority after the building was lost to a fire earlier this year. It is now set to reopen and welcome both Carver and Indian Spring students in the fall of 2023.
"Our kids from both schools are gonna get a top-notch facility, 21st learning environment that will truly be the game-changer that we expect it to be, that kids deserve in this time," said G.W. Carver-Indian Spring principal Dr. Isaac Carrier.
The bond proposal was originally created with a community advisory committee earlier this year and then later approved for a vote by the Waco ISD school board.
Waco ISD parent Jessica King Voige has been a proponent of the bond proposition since the beginning.
"Now, our kids get to reap the benefit of us making a choice that Waco is worth investing in, it's worth our kids being here," Voige said.
The proposition passed with nearly 58 percent of the vote on Tuesday.
The bond's passage means property taxes for those within the district will increase. According to the district, the estimated increase will be $0.1001 per $100 of property valuation. WISD estimates that the average household will see a tax increase of $130.69 per year.
Waco ISD superintendent, Dr. Susan Kincannon, told 25 News the district will make sure to be "good stewards" of taxpayer money.
"We've already moved forward with schematic design of two of these campuses, we've hired an auditor to make sure that every dollar that we're accounting for every dollar that's spent on these school buildings," Kincannon said.
Waco ISD hopes to have all construction projects related to the bond complete by the end of 2025.
