The Tarkington ISD Board of Trustees is calling for a $59 million bond election on Saturday, May 4. This move is aimed at seeking approval from voters to cover the costs of a new elementary campus and much-needed upgrades to all other campuses within the district.
According to a statement from the District, the bond package, developed and recommended by the Future Forward Committee, represents a diverse cross-section of the Tarkington ISD community. This group includes local citizens, civic and business leaders, parents, and school staff. Extensive research and analysis were conducted as the Committee delved into facility assessments, demographics, enrollment projections, district financial information, and toured campuses.
Over several months, members of the committee dedicated their time and expertise to assessing and prioritizing key areas of focus. This included exploring potential new facilities, as well as maintenance and renovations to existing campuses, before formulating their recommendations.
If the bond is approved, the old Tarkington Elementary campus, which was built in 1971, will be replaced with a new campus. Tarkington Middle School, which was constructed in 1974, will receive updates to the band hall, new flooring and ceiling tiles throughout, the addition of a covered walkway and an ADA-compliant entrance, renovations to the kitchen and serving areas, an increase in the dining capacity of the school cafeteria, upgrades to security systems, and renovations to the science lab and auditorium.
Among the improvements planned for Tarkington High School, which was constructed in 2005, are additions and renovations to the Agriculture Education buildings and the band hall, upgrades to the science lab, and the addition of a Career and Technical Education (CTE) wing for a culinary arts lab, a robotics lab, and a flex classroom.
For the average valued homestead in the District, the financial impact of the bond is estimated to be approximately $16.56 per month. Notably, there will be no financial impact on the homestead of taxpayers aged 65 years and older who have applied for and received the “Age 65 or Older Exemption.” Additionally, due to the recently increased homestead exemption, homesteads with an appraised value of $100,000 or less will not be subject to paying any school taxes to Tarkington ISD.
In terms of important dates, Election Day is scheduled for Saturday, May 4, with early voting set to run from April 22 through April 30. It’s crucial to note that the last day to register to vote is Thursday, April 4. Eligibility to vote in the Bond Election requires individuals to be 18 years of age by Election Day. Furthermore, persons who are at least 17 years and 10 months old are eligible to register to vote.
Hell No! Not paying for Illegal border jumping messcans. Go home Juan and work to make things better in Mexico instead of illegally coming to our country with your hand out. Hell No
Are you mental? There are very few Hispanics in Tarkington. The growth is from everyone else moving to Tarkington to escape the city.
I don’t think “very few” anymore is a fair statement. But also don’t agree with “Juan”! 🤦🏼♀️
No, money should be set aside regularly with the increased revenue from all the new houses and new businesses that are slowly trickling in. Government institutions need to start learning to budget for the future and not just ask for a pay raise every time they want to do something new.
Not to mention the increased valuations on all the old existing properties that are now bringing in way more revenue
Slowly trickling in??
Our students deserve to have updated campuses. Especially with the growth that is expected due to the new subdivisions in the area.
What they deserve and how it gets funded are two different questions. The bond states a small increase in taxes per month, that amount should have been budgeted and planned for from the rapidly rising valuations of existing properties and new income from all the development (makes me wonder if these developers are getting tax breaks, since most of the land being developed was in ag/timber use and should have led to a dramatic increase in revenue when taken out). Our taxes have gone up enough and we don’t need the tax collectors hand reaching a little deeper into our pocket, we are tapped out.
Finally someone who can look at a tax increase, recognize it and identify its deficiencies.
Most of you throw away more than that a month on Marlboros and beer.
Nobody reached into my pocket and took it though and if I decided to not buy beer I don’t have to pay for it. That $16 a month will grow as valuations go up. Taxes only grow, revenue only goes up, don’t be fooled. This is how we got to the current state of taxation in this country, they do it incrementally and everybody says ooo it’s just a little bit.
Those are just excuses. The truth is you either fall into two categories. One, you have no children in the school or two, you have children in the school but continue to think in terms of “25 years ago” and argue taxes just because everyone else does
It doesn’t seem to even account for population growth coming. There will second bond shortly!!
I just hope and pray they do something dramatic to that intermediate school!!! I know so many parents that when their kids went there they were sick all the time, mine included!!! That building reeks of mold so bad! The building is probably over 60 years! ( sarcasm there)…. It might be older or it might be less who knows.
I will pay double or triple that no problem. Just build the new field house and turf the fields first. Then with the rest do whatever you want. Our athletic facilities are the worst in the state of Texas. Education is important yes and Tarkington has always had a slight grip on education but, are light years behind on what the kids deserve athletically.
No money should be spent on athletics. How about paying competitive teacher salaries so we can attract and employ certified master teachers. It is school after all!
Dannyb,
Examples of how taxation works are not excuses, they are examples of how taxation works. And your two examples are not truth as you state but opinions that create two fictional types of people. The truth is the school can pass a bond with no tax raise and pay that bond back by using increasing revenue from new developments and higher valuations on existing properties. They opted to go for a bond with a raise in taxes, which will go up as times goes on, and for that reason I don’t support it.
Got to pay for the increased capacity for all these illegal tortilla beater criminals beginning to inundate the area- Cleveland is full, so Tarkington is next.
But while you diligently pay your property taxes that probably just massively increased for your kids to have facilities, these mojados are living (or soon will be) 3 families with 9 kids on their property, putting a disproportionately large tax burden on you- the law abiding citizen.
That’s not counting the welfare fraud they commit, and social costs such as more law enforcement and medical care, while the mammy sits at home and craps out as many welfare babies as she can, all while you work overtime just to get by.
In other words, hell no.
Exactly my point. Explaining how taxes work and you don’t wanna pay em equals an excuse. Its not your lack of knowledge on the subject. Most people who pay taxes should understand them. Its the mind set im talking about, sure there should have been saving along the way. How many years or school board members have we gone through that we should have been saving this amount of money? This should have been started years ago, it did not. Something needs to happen now because its only gonna get worse. Also, we need students to have the tools to enter the world not turf on a football field. Your priorities are out of wack sir.
You don’t have to save all of the money and pay for it all at once. You can still have a bond that doesnt raise taxes and pay for it through existing and increasing revenue without raising taxes.
You are not understanding what he saying Danny
You don’t need a pay raise to take out a mortgage. Just as you don’t need to raise taxes to pass a bond.
At 59millon dollars? Im gonna have to agree to disagree. Partial maybe. Not to argue with you or anyone in particular but our upgrades need to be expedited. Thats not going to happen with a revenue bond setting on the shelf waiting to be doled out. I also believe that ALL students should have access to the same benefits from our school district including the “tortilla beaters” as some have stated in other parts of this thread. Regardless, our students will still be here sitting right next to the ones you dont want them to. Read your bible, love your neighbor, feed your enemy. Wash his feet… even the criminals. Is not passing this bond going to make all of your issues disappear? No. We will still deal with the same problems today and tomorrow that we did yesterday.
59 MILLION! This is ridiculous. We pay a large amount of taxes as is and now a new bond, why not a possible refresh of the existing school at a much cheaper price? I am concerned with the taxes in this county and school district that continue to rise year after year. I can’t imagine that these new housing developments aren’t padding someone’s pocket.
(Colony Ridge) Developers don’t give a rats a.. about the taxation and bonding since they blow in here build a subdivision and are gone, we, who live and work in our community are taxed to the point we have to question if it’s worth living in this area.
All that this is designed for is to skim money off the top and keep up with the Cleveland ISD debacle of pissing money off. (Cleveland ISD purchased the of Campbell Offices, condemned them and then tore them down, and are now building a multi-million-dollar Admin office?) I have to wonder who is profiting off this bond?
I am also assuming that the property is already picked out for the new build. Let me guess, its someone on the board or related to someone on the board and will be paid an ungodly sum for their land.
This whole bond and the reasoning behind it reeks of corruption.!
That is the dumbest bunch of rambling that I’ve read this week. I dare you to find the last time that TISD raised the tax rate. We have one of if not the lowest in the county. They actually have lowered the rate to offset the rising valuations. No one on the board is making money. You really need to do at least a little bit of research before posting. When you type out a comment, read it and ask yourself, “does this make me look like a moron?” You obviously didn’t do either before that last post.
Wow, rant much? You are entitled to your opinion as am I.
I was under the impression that this was an open forum to discuss not name call and act ignorant.
(Rising valuation= more taxes!!!! If my property is valued at 100,000.00 x 2%= my tax is 200.00 if the valuation is 600,000.00 x 2% = my tax is 1200.00) This is an example: I am not saying this is the tax rate, just proving a point of increasing valuations equals increased tax!
Granted the tax rate is lower than some of the schools in liberty county,
however, I stated I paid a large amount of taxes already!
Also, sounds like you know, so, prove me wrong, who owns the proposed property for the new school??????
Concerned Tarkington Resident
Spoiled society always needs a new shiny object to make them feel better. Need to cut this proposal down and put up a large metal building with 4 walls per classroom and nothing more. Throw in some windows so we can leave the lights off and run the AC on 80 to toughen up these soft kids. I don’t mind helping education but the fancy architecture they will add is where you start wasting taxpayer money, those walls don’t give the kids manners and values or an education. And ban smart phones from the building.