Early voting begins Saturday

Early voting for the April 29 general election begins Saturday, as voters in the Simsboro and Ruston school districts will decide yes or no on separate bond proposals from the Lincoln Parish School Board.

In the Simsboro district, the board is asking residents to approve a $10 million bond issue to fund improvements at Simsboro School, including new classrooms, an agri- science shop and gym renovations.

Meanwhile, voters in the Ruston district will determine the fate of a $65 million bond issue to finance a plan to consolidate the district’s four upper and lower elementary schools into two K-5 schools, as well as athletics facilities upgrades for Ruston High School.

Early voting will continue through April 22, excluding Sunday, at the Lincoln Parish Registrar of Voters office, located on the ground floor of the courthouse. Voting hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Voters should bring photo ID, such as a valid driver’s license.

Simsboro bond proposal

The school board is seeking approval to issue $10 million in general obligation bonds to pay for a capital improvement plan at Simsboro School.

If approved, an existing property tax in the Simsboro district that’s paying off previous bond issues would see an “estimated increase” of 5.55 mills in the first year, bringing the total to 11.5 mills.

One mill is one dollar of tax per $1,000 of a property’s taxable assessed value, after the Homestead Exemption if applicable.

Some $5.7 million would be spent expanding Simsboro School’s high school wing with new classrooms and an ag building. The classrooms would replace older rooms that need to be phased out, officials say.

The ag building would include a classroom, shop and restrooms and would be aimed at improving the school’s offerings for students in the Jump Start pathways. The building would take up space on the existing pre-K playground, so $105,000 would go toward a new playground.

Another $ 2.8 million would be allocated to overhaul the school’s gymnasium lobby with more space, new restrooms, a new concession area and more, aimed at addressing congestion and comfort at Simsboro basketball games, which were known to draw crowds during the Tigers’ recent streak of statewide success.

Nearly half a million dollars would be allocated for additional parking, driveways, drainage, dirt work and landscaping. Another $682,500 would go to replace the lighting at the school’s baseball and softball fields.

Finally, another $100,000 would replace the school’s auditorium seating.

This election is not a tax renewal, nor is it approval of a new tax.

Approval would make an existing tax run longer, and at a higher rate, at least for a while. But a “no” vote would not end the tax altogether.

One tax in each individual school district finances all the bonds the school board issues for projects within that district.

If the bond proposal is approved, $10 million would be added to the debt that tax must pay off over time. The school board would have 20 years from the time it issues the new bonds to pay them back.

Taking on that additional debt means the school board would raise the existing levy from 5.95 mills to 11.5 mills for the first year.

Ruston bond proposal

Voters in Ruston School District No. 1 will be asked to decide the fate of a $65 million bond issue to fund a capital improvement plan largely devoted to changing the structure

of the district’s elementary school system.

Some $53 million would be used to expand the campuses of Hillcrest Elementary School and Glen View Elementary School, growing them from K-2 sites to K-5, possibly even pre-K if there’s enough room in the budget once the projects are put out for bid.

Ruston Elementary School and Cypress Springs Elementary would close as a result of this plan, and their students and staff would migrate to Hillcrest and Glen View, respectively.

The east/west attendance zones would remain the same. The two schools in each zone, currently serving different grades, would simply become one at the current K-2 campuses.

School system officials say the consolidation is aimed at smoothing out the disruptive transitions young students must undergo by allowing them to remain at one familiar campus for more years.

They wouldn’t have to change locations until they go to I.A. Lewis for sixth grade.

Organized opposition to the plan has sprouted up in the past two months. Consisting largely of Black residents, critics take issue with closing two schools on the lower-income south side of Ruston and expanding two schools on the north side.

They also say putting too many elementary students and grades on one campus could cause discipline and achievement issues.

It will be up to voters in the Ruston district, which extends far beyond the city limits, to decide whether the plan receives the funding it needs to take place.

Just like in Simsboro, the new bonds would be paid back by an existing property tax, which is already in the process of paying off the debts from older projects.

Unlike Simsboro’s tax, this one would not rise beyond the current 17.75 mills in the first year. It would simply be levied for a longer period of time than it would otherwise, thanks to $65 million in additional debt.

Other expenditures include $ 5 million to improve the Cypress Springs campus or another facility to become the school district’s new central office.

Another $5 million would pay for a new multi-purpose athletic facility at Ruston High school that officials say would be heavily utilized by a wide variety of sports teams, as well as the band and other groups.

Lastly, some $2.1 million would finance a new grandstand, press box, backstop and fencing at the Ruston High baseball complex.