White Oak calls $1 million bond election for November

White Oak ISD trustees voted 7-0 this week to call a bond election Nov. 5, asking voters to approve $1,075,000 – it covers an older bond without a tax rate increase.
“In 2015, we had a bond that was on the Maintenance & Operation side somehow,” WOISD Supt. Jack Parker explained. Most bonds are on the Interest & Sinking side of a school’s finances, and approval of the bond this fall will right the books: “It frees up that bond payment we’ve been making since 2015 on M&O and frees up money to go back into our programs.”
The school board opened Monday with an hour-long budget workshop before their regular meeting. At that point, the trustees rearranged their agenda to enter an hour-long executive session, citing a personnel issue upon their return to the open meeting. No action was taken following the closed door discussion, and the group wrapped up the bond vote and a handful of other items within 10 minutes.
The debt transfer was originally Proposition B on the bond. Prior to their unanimous vote Monday evening (with no discussion) trustees removed Prop A, proposed athletic facility upgrades.
“That was just a thought and something they could have done,” Parker said. “We really wanted to make sure Prop B passes. That is the one we really have honed in and focused on.”
More information on the $1,075,000 Prop B will be distributed in the coming months before voters head to the polls in early November.
“We do plan on having our financial team come in and have some Q&As and publicize things about what this will do for us,” Parker said. “We can move this over to the I&S and pay that I&S rate to get this bond paid off on the correct side,” emphasizing passage will not increase taxes: “That’s very important in my opinion – no one likes new taxes.”