Bowie ISD proposes $65.8M bond for school improvements

BOWIE, Texas (KAUZ) - Voters within Bowie ISD will cast their ballot in favor or against a proposed $65.8 Million bond.

District officials said this bond would help with expansion, safety, and traffic flow.

The district believes having modern campuses for the district is critical.

Bowie ISD Superintendent Blake Enlow said they have the blueprints all laid out, but the plan for giving these campuses a face-lift cannot happen without community approval.

”We’re pretty much ready to go. Our architects have the plans and those kinds of things to the point where they’ll go out to get bids and that kind of thing.” Enlow said.

For Bowie ISD, new campuses are needed, but the current plan exceeds the district’s current budget.

”There’s no real way for us to raise money, and be able to generate funds to do a project like this. You can’t cut 60 million dollars from an 18 million dollar budget.” He said.

One campus was built nearly a century ago.

”I think people who come into the buildings, especially the junior high can tell that 100-year-old building has served us well but it may not be the best facility for the next group of kiddos coming through.” He said.

Enlow said a tornado that hit the area in 2020 played a big part in the decision to move forward with a bond.

After Uvalde, safety has been at the frontline of the district’s priorities.

”In Each of those buildings, kids go outside to different classrooms, and that’s just not the best scenario. You can fence them in and that kind of thing, but being able to build a brand new campus with all of the classrooms inside. Also in the new campuses, we will have a storm shelter that goes along with it knowing we have had a tornado here.” Enlow said.

Although homeowners may have seen appraisal increases, those dollars don’t go to Bowie ISD.

”Our operating budget on that side of things stays about the same. We don’t generate a lot of that money even if the values of the homes or the property goes up it stays fairly stagnant.” Enlow said.

Enlow said moving forward with the project counts on the Bowie community’s approval of the bond.

Early voting with start this month on October 23 and election day is November 7. To learn more about the bond you can click here.

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