TOWN HALL OCT. 19, 1 P.M., DICKENS SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER
On the November 3 ballot for northern Dickens County voters will be propositions for approximately $9 million in funding for Patton Springs ISD, slightly revised from the measures that failed by narrow margins in May 2022.
Thefundingopportunity,explained school superintendent Bryan White, could keep “a big chunk” of local tax dollars in the community for the next decade, a move that would without doubt keep the doors open and greatly improve facilities for the school.
Last year, after voters turned down propositions related to security and facilities improvements, and districtowned teacher housing, local taxpayers sent $30,000 of their school tax revenues back to Austin to go into the a possible $1 billion in the next decade—it’s another story entirely. Relinquishing those tax revenues could be much greater if the bond proposition were to fail again. An estimated “$500 million in tax dollars would be sacrificed,” said White.
The bond measures include changes to the school facility that would bring all classrooms under the same roof and within the same secure perimeter, a goal for school security nationwide. They would also fund moving public restrooms to the outside of the gym, preventing access to instructional areas of the building during after-hours events. Schoolowned housing, a vital component for helping a rural school recruit teachers, remains the focus of Proposition B.
But also, following a series of devastating storms in the area this spring, the Patton Springs ISD board decided to add another safety feature: a state-ofthe- art storm shelter. This project would serve the general public as well as the school community.
Patton Springs ISD, in unincorporated Afton, Texas, enrolls approximately 80 students in grades K-12. Its taxing jurisdiction includes Galaxy Digital’s Helios bitcoin mining facility, which opened in 2021, as well as battery-storage and solar energy projects soon to come online.
Proposition A and Proposition B will be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot for the district’s voters. The measures failed by 6 votes and 1 vote respectively in May 2022.
Asked about community reaction, White said, “In our building everybody is disappointed, but we will move on.”
“We learned a lesson” after that vote, said White. for any future proposals or elections.
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