Registered voters living in Lewisville ISD boundaries will be able to vote for the approval or disapproval of the 2017 LISD Bond Referendum on May 6.

The $737 million bond was proposed after extensive facility reports, research, and computing the capacity of each school. An 80-citizen committee from across the district calculated the finances, need and technology from all campuses before proposing the finalized bond. Most of the money is allotted towards refreshing and renovating existing facilities based off of an in-depth facility report at every campus in the district.

“It showed that we had need in the district for facility upgrades, and we wanted to make sure that we had things on a 20 year refresh timeline,” Jenny Proznik, who currently occupies Place 5 on the LISD school board, said. “And that 20 years comes from the fact that’s usually when air conditioners and roofs tend to lose integrity, so the facility part was compiled at the time we met in July as a board.”

The plans for Hebron include several refresh cycles on appliances and utilities, a new multi-purpose facility, a new practice field and a new indoor athletic center. The proposed multi-purpose facility would be able to hold orchestra and band concerts, along with indoor sporting events and pep rallies. Beside those items, students will see upgraded technology and larger bandwidth, renovations in the fine arts department and upgraded security features with more cameras, a buzz-in system and ballistic protection.

“I think the bond is a pretty good idea and it seems like it would really make Hebron a better school,” freshman Meghan McAnally said. “I just hope that most of the renovations and stuff will be done by the time I graduate.”

LISD’s last bond came in 2008, which allotted for a total of eleven new facilities. Six of the eleven new facilities were completed within three years of the bond. Proznik said if the bond is approved, new facilities would probably be completed within five years. She also assured students that even if they don’t see new facilities, all students will be impacted by technology upgrades and a larger bandwidth.

“It is a bond that will encompass the entire district,” Proznik said. “There is not one student that will not be affected by this bond.”

The bond, if approved, will stand for 20 years. The school board and committee estimated that the taxes will be less than $16 per month for the average priced LISD home, which is $310,000. That is just an estimate and is subject to change as it did in 2008, when the projected taxes were greater than the actual tax impact.

“I think it’s a good idea to have the bond because the schools need upgrades and the bond will give them the money to do so,” LISD citizen and parent Waseem Aslam said.

The 2008 bond was ultimately passed with  57.66 percent of voters in favor of the bond and 42.34 percent against it. All registered voters over the age 18 living in the district are able to vote. Proznik urged all eligible citizens to vote as in the 2008 bond election, less than five percent of citizens voted.

“[LISD is] 120 square miles and 53,000 students, so we’re a large district,” Proznik said. “I really have a great deal of faith in the process the facilities the advisory committee did. Now it is up to the voter to vote. I encourage you to tell your parents to vote. I think it’s really important to vote.”