Roger Estlack

Clarendon CISD Trustees approved asking voters for $11.7 million in bonds during a called meeting last Wednesday, February 14, with the funds going toward improving the football stadium, a new vocational ag building, new buses, and improved safety measures.

The measure on the May ballot will be in the form of three separate propositions, and voters can vote for or against any or all of them.

Proposition A will seek $1.8 million for safety and security upgrades and the school as well as two new buses.

Proposition B would fund $6.9 million in improvements at Bronco Stadium including accessibility improvements, new home and visitor bleachers, a new press box, and $3.3 to 3.5 million for a new field house, restrooms, and concession stand.

Proposition C would provide $3 million for a new vocational ag building.

School officials were originally considering a bond package of $13 million, but trustees scaled back after several citizens spoke out during open forum at the board meeting and during a bond discussion in the high school auditorium prior to the meeting.

The open discussion before the meeting drew about 30 citizens who came to listen to financial advisor John Blackmon explain the funding of the bonds and what tax rates would be necessary to fund certain levels of bonded indebtedness. The same figures were presented at two previous school board meetings.

No figure was readily available last Wednesday for the rate it would take to support a $11.7 million bond, but Blackmon had previously estimated an additional 30 cents per $100 valuation would be needed for a hypothetical $11.5 million bond.
Blackmon also went over the effects of the new $100,000 homestead exemption for school taxes.

Following the discussion, school officials and the public moved to the administration building when school trustees had waited over an hour to begin their called meeting. Five members of the public signed into open forum, all of whom thanked the board for their service.

Chancey Cruise encouraged the board to wait a year before putting the measure on the ballot, said additional taxes would make it harder to bring businesses to Clarendon, called a proposed $1.3 million artificial turf field “a horrible idea,” and said the school’s priorities should be focused on academics, particularly teachers’ salaries.

Corey Gaither also asked the board to wait a year and do their “due diligence” before committing to 30 years of debt.

Former school board member Johnny Floyd said he felt like the time was not right to ask for a bond given the state of the economy and the uncertainty surrounding the next national election. He focused on the ag building proposal, calling the ag program the worst in the last 15 years.

Jeff Robertson said sports was pushed in his school growing up, and he felt he had been passed just so he could play sports. He said, as a result, he was behind when he went to college. He encouraged the board to put the emphasis on education.

Roger Wade spoke and focused his opposition on the ag building.

Superintendent Jarod Bellar said he was not stuck on having a new turf field but said he definitely thinks Clarendon needs a new field house. He said having good facilities helps with recruiting employees. He felt like if you’re going to do a project, don’t do it halfway and said even if something isn’t a necessity now but will become a necessity, why not address it now. He agreed teachers need to be paid more, but he said there’s a war going on in Austin over that with Governor Abbott holding teachers’ pay hostage for vouchers.

The board then convened in closed session for just under an hour to consult with their bond attorney before returning to open session and approving a measure to put the slimmed down bond proposal on the May ballot.

Early voting in the 2024 Republican and Democratic primaries opened today with Donley County voters casting ballots at the Courthouse Annex.

New hours for early voting are giving voters more flexibility this year. The annex will be open for early voting from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through Friday this week, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 24, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, February 25. Next week, early voting hours will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday, February 26, through Friday, March 1.

Republican voters have several local races to decide. State Rep. Ken King is being challenged by Karen Post. In Precinct 1, Commissioner Mark White is being challenged by Del Essary; and in Precinct 3, Commissioner Neil Koetting is facing challenges from Sis Bond and Greg Wootten.

Local candidates running unopposed on the Republican ticket are US Rep. Ronny Jackson, District Judge Dale Rabe, Jr., District Attorney Luke Inman, County Attorney Landon Lambert, Sheriff Butch Blackburn, and County Tax Assessor/Collector Kristy Christopher. Bill Word is also unopposed for the county GOP chairman’s position.
Republicans also have 13 non-binding ballot propositions to consider.

There are no local races on the Democratic ticket this year.

This year’s primary election day will be Tuesday, March 5.

The Clarendon CISD Board of Trustees will meet tonight, February 14, to consider calling a bond election on May 4 to fund improved athletic and ag facilities as well as safety upgrades to the school.

The board meeting will begin at 7 p.m. with the community invited to attend a presentation beforehand at 6 p.m. in the CHS Auditorium.

CCISD Trustees met in a called session last Wednesday and discussed potential projects and bonds totaling between $9.4 million and $13.2 million, which would be paid for by an additional property tax of between 25 cents and 35 cents per $100 valuation.

In open forum during last week’s meeting, Roger Wade expressed his concerns about the possible issuance of bonds and asked several questions of school officials.

“I’m not against some improvements, but we have to consider what do we want and what do we need,” Wade said. “Who is going to pay and who is not going to pay?”

Wade criticized the school’s ag program and the proposed construction of a new ag facility, saying he felt the current building wasn’t being used adequately. He also suggested the Bronco field house could be renovated instead of replaced. He also voiced concerns that people who won’t have to pay for the bonds (due to the new $100,000 homestead exemption) will vote for the bonds.

Corey Gaither also addressed the board and asked for “a little common sense.” He objected to the cost estimates for some of the items up for consideration.

“Three and half million for a field house. Really? Half a million for an announcer’s booth? That’s the cost of a house,” Gaither said.
As the meeting moved into the discussion of the projects, Superintendent Jarod Bellar addressed the concerns of those present while re-presenting some information from the board’s January 16 meeting.

“I want to be as transparent as possible,” Bellar said.

The superintendent explained that if the board votes to move forward, citizens would be asked to vote on two separate ballot questions. Proposition A would be for a new ag building and campus safety improvements for about $4 million. Proposition B would be for improvements at Bronco Stadium for about $7 million.

Among the athletic improvements discussed were a new facility for the field house, restrooms, and concession stand; accessibility issues in the stadium; a new press box; new visitor and home bleachers; and possibly a new artificial turf field.

The superintendent said it’s possible the school could use some of its fund balance – $1.2 to $1.5 million – to help with the projects. He said about $576,000 of the fund balance is designated for construction.

Bellar told Wade he understood his comments about the ag program and said the school was working to make the program better with industry certifications.

“I want that for our kids,” Bellar said. “We’re trying to make a strong program.”

Bellar said the facility study completed of the school campus last year probably did not include the Band Hall but said it generally found most facilities in “fine working order” except for the ag building and the field house.

Citizens in attendance expressed concerns about the short time available before decisions can be made about the bond. To which Bellar replied that if the board votes to proceed with calling for a bond election, the election would be May 4 and that would give adequate time for the information to be presented to the voters so they can make an informed decision.