The Canutillo Independent School District Board of Trustees tonight accepted the recommendation of its Facility Advisory Task Force and called for a May 4 bond election to address growth and the continued loss in enrollment because of lack of schools in new neighborhoods in the District.
The $387-million bond proposal would re-build and relocate the Davenport Elementary and Alderete Middle campuses from their current locations to the fast-growing Enchanted Hills subdivision. If approved, the bond also would re-build and relocate Canutillo Middle School from its current landlocked location to a fast-growing Upper Valley location.
Other projects include the construction of a brick-and-mortar Northwest Early College High School campus, upgrades to the HVAC systems at existing schools, district-wide roof replacements, safety and security improvements and other repairs at aging campuses.
Canutillo ISD earlier this year announced that nearly 1,800 students who live within the District’s boundaries do not attend CISD campuses, which is costing the District around $17 million in state funding. The District this year attributed lower enrollment as one of the factors that led to a deficit in the budget.
Superintendent Dr. Pedro Galaviz said the District is once again asking voters to consider the bond as a way to address the two main critical issues impacting Canutillo: loss of enrollment and the shifting of general funds to address infrastructure needs.
Voters will consider two propositions on the May 4 ballot:
- Proposition A: The issuance of $379 million for new construction, repairs and upgrades; and
- Proposition B: The issuance of $7.2 million to repay the maintenance tax notes the District issues in 2020 to issue laptops to all students during the pandemic. The repayment of these notes would relieve the general budget deficit by about $1 million each year.
If approved, the bond would add two cents to the District’s current tax rate of $1.1605.
The impact to the average Canutillo ISD home worth about $288,000 would be about $3.17 per month in school taxes. Qualifying senior citizens would not see their tax rate increase if the bond is approved.