Parents of Lions and other residents in their den had a chance recently to learn more about the upcoming bond election for Granger Independent School District.
Town hall meetings were held at Granger High School last week, April 5 and 7. Residents were able to hear reasons for and effects from a bond proposal that includes a new football stadium, high school campus, renovations and more.
“I think it did well. The first one had more people show up than the second one, but I definitely think that people who wanted to kind of get some answers were able to come out and get them,” said Superintendent Jeni Neatherlin. “We got a lot of good feedback just from the presentation they were able to get.”
The meetings provided an opportunity to ask the district questions regarding what’s being built, what’s proposed, the tax rate and potential increase, and how the district came to this point.
“Those are always steps the district is taking to provide information for the taxpayers,” said Neatherlin.
The meetings come on the heels of the Feb. 11 vote by the Granger ISD school board to call for a $44 million bond election May 7.
“We had the longterm facilities planning committee meeting together to talk about the aging facilities and the growth that’s happening in Granger, and essentially right now, the bond is about the growth and the projected growth for the amount of students that we’re going to have in the next 5-10 years, easily,” said Neatherlin. “We have a 20% growth rate over the last year and a half, so that’s something we have to address as we move forward with all of the companies that are moving in in the area, this bond address those needs.”
If passed, the bond would result in a tax increase of 35 cents per $100 valuation. The total tax rate would then be $1.26. The increase would not affect citizens ages 65 and older with a homestead and exemption application filed through the Williamson County Appraisal District.
“We will have one more town hall meeting and opportunities for people to get information,” planned Neatherlin. “I’m always looking for opportunities just to make sure that we can get information out there to everybody that wants it.
For more information on the upcoming bond proposal and to look at the presentation from the town hall meetings, visit https://www. grangerisd.net.
