Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Voters in the San Jon and House school districts during the Nov. 5 election will decide whether to issue bonds to make improvements to their buildings and facilities.
Voters in the San Jon district will vote on an $800,000 general-obligation bond package for repairs to buildings and facilities. House school district voters face a $400,000 general-obligation bond issue for building safety improvements.
The bond-issue votes are packaged of numerous races for offices around Quay County. Early voting will continue through Saturday, when the Quay County Clerk’s Office is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. that day.
Voting hours on Tuesday, Election Day, will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Tucumcari Convention Center, House Community Center, San Jon Community Center and Logan Civic Center. Sample ballots are at NMvote.org.
A flyer on the San Jon school district website states the $800,000 in bonds, paired with state grants, ultimately would be used for new fencing around school grounds, replacement of fire-alarm systems, new flooring in the cafeteria, improvements to grading and drainage, replacing a boiler near the middle-school gymnasium, improving parking lots, replacing a deteriorated track, replacing roofing components and replacing cracked sidewalks.
Superintendent Janet Gladu said the district on Oct. 18 was awarded state Public School Capital Outlay Council grants of $1.48 million and $152,000 over a two-year period. Most of the $800,000 bond issue would cover the 29% match required from the district for the repairs and improvements.
The remainder of about $45,000 in bond money would be used for track and football-field repairs, she said. If the bond issue doesn’t pass, the district won’t get the capital-outlay money, she said.
If passed, Gladu said the bonds would not lead to increases in property taxes.
She expressed confidence the bond question would pass, noting a previous bond vote had passed easily. She also said residents were “very, very positive” about the bond-issue plan after she informed them about it recent meetings in the village.
Bonnie Lightfoot, superintendent of House Municipal Schools, stated in an email the district’s $400,000 bond request would cover school-security upgrades, with an emphasis on exterior and interior doors.
“We will also consider constructing a secure vestibule to provide a more secure entrance to our school that will require a check-in at the office prior to entering any part of our campus,” she stated in an email.
Lightfoot stated property taxes will be affected by about 1.5 mils from historical five-year averages.
“However, I am confident in its passage because voters in House recognize the importance of security to our school, and they also realize the school is vital to the community,” she sated. “School security is a mandate from the Public Education Department, and our voters recognize our part in the stability of this community.
“Voters in the district have historically been supportive of bonds in previous elections,” Lightfoot added.
