By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board will hear a recommendation from its bond committee at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Rockwell Administration Center.
The committee is set to recommend a $143.5 million bond that would include building a new high school. The project will also include:
• The middle school moving into the renovated high school
• Hays Middle School being renovated into a new elementary school
• O'Loughlin and Roosevelt Elementary Schools would be renovated
• Administrative offices would be moved to Wilson
• Rockwell Administration Center and Lincoln Elementary School would be closed
The new high school would include an auditorium. As part of the renovations, any facility issues that were rated a one or two out of four on the district's facility report would be addressed.
It will be up to the board to decide how the bond is funded. If the bond is funded only through property tax, it would cost a taxpayer $35.94 per month on a $200,000 home.
However, district officials have considered funding the project partially through a half-cent sales tax. That would drop the per month property tax bill for the bond to $21.56 per month on a $200,000 home.
The Hays City Commission would also have to approve a ballot question involving a sales tax.
The board could vote on moving forward with a vote of the people at its meeting on Feb. 7. District officials have discussed bringing the bond to a vote in May.
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The board will also consider district level employment contracts and hear the audit report from Adams Brown.