Safety, teacher recruitment at little cost: Patton at a crossroads with bond vote

Patton Springs ISD is at a crossroads.

For the first time in its history the school district has a large enough tax base to make improvements to a school built in 1934. There have been a few additions to the building since 1934.

With the available tax base and the great prospect for more to come, this the perfect time to go forward with new improvements with very little cost to the tax payers.

With the state compressing our tax rate down to .7575 cents and proposed bond tax increase of .37 cents, property taxes will only be increasing by .19 cents over last year’s tax rate.

We have the opportunity to increase the safety of our students and staff by adding two classrooms under the main building. In light of the terrible storm that produced a devastating tornado in Matador last spring, we are proposing to build a Storm Shelter/Community Center. Our current shelter is a small basement with steep stairs that make it very difficult for the elderly to get in and out.

There also are no restroom facilities in our basement. We view this as an investment in the future of Patton Springs ISD and also a chance to make our school more safe.

We have added proposition B to purchase housing and land to retrain and attract teachers. In Texas many teachers are retiring and leaving education all together.

The pool to try and replace teachers is very shallow. For schools like Patton Springs that can’t pay higher salaries that some schools can and do, we have to look at other ways that could attract teachers and retain those that we already have. Housing is a great incentive for many teachers.

Bryan White Superintendent, Patton Springs ISD