THORNDALE, Texas (KRHD) — Voters approved a $34.5 million bond in May to build a new high school and add other campus improvements at Thorndale ISD.
- Thorndale ISD is building a new high school, adding more security, classrooms and a new cafeteria after voters passed a bond in its May election.
- Superintendent Zack Kleypas says it's the first bond approved in 25 years, drafted to account for the age of existing facilities and future growth.
- The bond will increase the tax rate by 50 cents.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Voters in Thorndale passed Thorndale ISD's 2024 bond over the weekend.
For parent Rachel Heine, she felt it was her civic duty to help the bond get passed.
"I feel like based on just the age of the schools and the size of the schools, our community really needed it."
Superintendent Zack Kleypas says it's the first bond approved in 25 years.
"We had 78% of voters vote in favor of this bond," he said.
But why now?
"We looked at the age and the condition of the facilities...and then we looked at future growth and we know with Samsung that just came in Taylor and the large Sandow Lakes project in Rockdale that both of those should impact us in terms of student growth," Kleypas said.
The plan is to build a new high school, transition middle school students into the current high school and connect the middle and elementary schools.
"There's additional smaller things like upgrades to safety security signage, additional playground spaces for our kids," Kleypas said.
Plus, add a second cafeteria, which is currently being shared by all schools — all for roughly 34 million dollars, increasing the tax rate in 2025 to $1.25.
The current rate at 75 cents.
Community members like David Hall tell me the price tag is worth it.
"This will give our kids so much more opportunity and our teachers and our instructors and our advisors so much more opportunities to get the best that they can for the out of the kids and to give the kids the best opportunity to succeed," Hall said.
Especially when it comes to their childrens' education.
"I think that overall just the improvements that they're making to the campus as a whole will really, it really primes us for growth to bring in new teachers and really invest in in our kids," Heine said.
