Voters in the Round Rock Independent School District have approved a $932.2 million bond package — one of the largest in the suburban school district's history.
Four separate bond propositions appeared on the Nov. 5 ballot; only three were ultimately approved by voters.
- Proposition A: $798.3 million in general purpose funds
- Proposition B: $125.3 million for technology
- Proposition C: $8.6 million for fine arts
Voters rejected Proposition D, which called for $65.9 million to improve the district's athletic facilities.
District leaders, including Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez, reacted to the election results during a press conference at Chisholm Trail Middle School on Wednesday.
"I want to thank the voters of Round Rock ISD," Azaiez said. "Your support and trust in us means that our students and staff will soon have upgraded classrooms, fine arts spaces, playing grounds and equipment throughout the district."
No one is more excited about those upgrades than Steven Swain, the principal of Chisholm Trail Middle School.
Swain, who attended the school as a student in the '80s, said improvements are long overdue.
"We have some carpet in the building that was here when I was a student," he said.
He said money from the bond will be used to help the school get all new flooring, in addition to several other projects.
"At the end of the day, they (the students) should have everything they need to be the best version of themselves," said Swain.
District leaders also used the press conference to convey their disappointment about the failure of Proposition D.
"The need for our students to have adequate (athletic) facilities is not going away, so we will have to evaluate moving forward where we go with this," said Amber Feller Landrum, president of the district's board of trustees.
Three seats on the RRISD board of trustees were also up for grabs. Chuy Zárate was re-elected to Place 1, while newcomers Melissa Ross and Michael Wei were elected to Place 2 and Place 7, respectively.
For more information about specific bond related projects, you can visit RRISD's website.
