Town of Trophy Club residents to vote on $260 million Northwest ISD Bond Program

by Minnie Payne

TROPHY CLUB — A 38-member committee from the 14 communities that the Northwest ISD encompasses, working for the past eight years to develop and update an ongoing 20-year master facility plan for the Northwest ISD, has recommended a $260 million bond election and the NISD Board of Trustees unanimously called the bond election for May 10, 2008. At its April 7 meeting, the Town of Trophy Club Town Council provided a resolution in support of the bond to encourage local voters to support it.

According to Dave Edstrom, member of the bond board, the Northwest ISD is one of the fastest growing school districts in the state, having approximately 12,000 students and having grown by 1,240 students since the end of the 2006-07 school years. The district enrollment is projected to double in the next five years. The Northwest ISD Board of Trustees called the election for the bond to meet the needs of the district for the next three years.

Edstrom said that from the committee’s perspective the following key points should be considered by voters.

• The bond is driven and paid for by district growth. The State of Texas considers a district a fast growth district if it grows 10 percent in five years. The NISD grows significantly more than that each year and based on demographic studies will continue that growth trend for the next 15 to 20 years.

• The bond indebtedness will be repaid without any increase in the Interest and Sinking (I & S) school property tax rate.

• The district administrators have been very good stewards of bond money. Projects in the 2001 and 2005 bonds have been completed on or ahead of schedule and on or under budget.

“Failure to provide funds through this bond for the necessary schools and facilities will harm the educational environment in the classroom and have a negative impact on every district family with children,” said Edstrom. “The negative impact on future residential and commercial growth will ultimately hurt every household in the district.

“A vibrant, high quality school district is one of the areas most important assets for attracting future residents and commercial interests.”

Early voting will be held April 28 – May 6 and Election Day is Saturday, May 10. For a more in-depth description on the bond election, visit this website.