The proposed bonds for the West Orange-Cove school district will pay for artificial turf at the high school for boys and girls, plus a gym-community events center at the high school.
The school district on Tuesday posted six pages of answers to “Frequently Asked Questions.” Last week, the school board voted to call for an election to sell $25.75 million in bonds to pay for a variety of improvements.
The bond election will be Tuesday, November 6, during the general election for national, state, and county offices.
Other projects for the proposed bonds are a new transportation center to be built on higher ground to protect the buses and other vehicles. The district plans improvements for fine arts programs and improved technology for classrooms. New classroom furniture and equipment will be bought for the career and technology programs.
The district also plans safety and security updates for campuses, plus HVAC, roofs and other building improvements.
The district will pay back the bonds through 25 years, except for the money to pay for the technology improvements will be repaid within five years.
According to the district, the state has a mandatory $25,000 exemption in the homestead appraised values of houses. In addition, the district gives a 20 percent homestead exemption on the value.
Based on those exemptions, the owner of a house appraised at $50,000 with homestead exemptions will pay $12.05 a year more, or about $1 a month.
The homeowner of a $90,000 house with the homestead exemptions would pay an extra $37.77 a year more, or about $3.15 a month. A house with an appraised value of $150,000 with homestead exemptions will pay about $76.33 a yeaer more, or about $6.33 a month.
The district said homeowners age 65 and older with the senior citizen exemption will have their school taxes frozen and will not pay more.
Homeowners through the years may end up paying less for the bond issue if overall property appraisals increase. The WO-C district is considered rich in industrial properties.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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