Mesquite ISD facility committee recommends $600 million bond to address aging buildings, safety and south-side growth

A committee convened by Mesquite Independent School District presented a recommended $600,000,000 bond package to the district’s board of trustees at a Jan. 13 information session, outlining projects intended to address aging facilities, school safety and enrollment growth in the district’s southern feeder pattern.

The committee — made up of parents, students, community members, former employees and board members — reported survey and workshop results that informed its priority list, and recommended a package designed to be funded within the district’s stated bond capacity and to require a one-cent increase on the Interest & Sinking (I&S) portion of the tax rate if the board ultimately calls a bond election.

The recommendation matters because, if the board decides to place the proposal before voters and they approve it, the package would fund storm shelters and secure entries, rebuild or expand congested campuses in the Horn feeder area, consolidate two older elementary schools, replace end-of-life infrastructure and remove dozens of portable classrooms.

Committee process and public input The district mailed postcard invitations to more than 5,000 likely voters and received 863 survey responses, and the committee itself…