Brookeland voters can pass bond, still see tax reduction

Voters in Brookeland will decide May 12 whether to pass a $5 million bond to enlarge and upgrade the schools. Early voting ended yesterday; voting will take place at the superintendent's office from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Lana Comeaux, superintendant of the Brookeland Independent School District, said, "Our district is in need of some additional classrooms due to increased enrollment over the last three years, going from approximated 280 to more than 340 students."

She said some buildings are outlived their life expectancy and they are using portable builds as a temporary fix.

"We have been working with an architect for nearly a year in developing a longrange master plan... (including) a new addition on the north side, two working bays and classrooms for ag classes, a home economics kitchen and a sewing lab, an oversized classroom for special services, a business lab and an additional classroom," Comeaux told parents in a letter requesting their support.

The money will also be used to expand seating in the cafeteria, and tie the high school and junior high together. The additions will enable them to move the fourth and fifth grade students out of classrooms in the gym.

The two additions are approximately 25,000 square feet and will cost an estimated $5 million.

"We've been able to use interest from federal impact aid money to reduce homeowner's taxes, so I thought this would be a good time to ask," Comeaux said.

The federal impact aid is money the government reimburses to the district for loss of revenue when they acquire land and remove it from the tax rolls. In Brookeland's case, it is for 29,000 acres of what used to be BISD and is now Lake Sam Rayburn.

Comeaux said those funds have been invested in CDs, and with the interest accumulated is now enough that the school district can buy down the tax rate and still have financial security.

Comeaux said if the bond issue passes, the new facilities would be ready in one year.