Cleveland ISD asking voters to approve $198M bond to help it keep up with student population growth
CLEVELAND, Texas (KTRK) -- With Cleveland ISD being the fastest growing district in Texas, it's asking for voters to approve a $198 million bond in November it says will help with that development.
The number of students has increased in the last five years. Cleveland ISD had 3,800 students back then. It's now at 7,600. The district says it's expecting it to double in the next five years.
At Cleveland High School, renovations are under way to keep pace with that growth.
Right now, the district is using portable classrooms as the construction continues. Everything will be ready for students in the next school year.
Funding for these renovations was approved in 2017. The $80 million also gave the district money for a new elementary school, Cottonwood Elementary, that will open in the fall of 2020.
But before that happens, Cleveland ISD will try to get another bond passed. Voters will decide on that in November.
The board of trustees is calling for $198 million this time.
Those tax dollars would be used for two new elementary campuses, a middle school, improvements and renovations to Northside Elementary and new school buses.
"People can have different opinions, but it's my firm belief that physical structure, hallways where kids can interact and have a social and emotional interaction with their classmates is important. But also just having our teachers in a physical building can help increase instruction and instructional strategies as we meet the needs of each and every kid every day," said Cleveland ISD Superintendent Chris Trotter.
Another bond was rejected by voters in May, but the one up for a vote this fall does not call for a tax increase.
