Simsboro School bond proposal passes

Voters in Simsboro School’s enrollment zone approved a $10 million bond proposal and property tax hike Saturday to pay for a slate of improvements to the school’s facilities.

Of 294 voters in the April 29 election, 155 gave the green light to the Lincoln Parish School Board proposal that will fund new classrooms, an agriscience shop, gym renovations and more at the school, good for 53%, while 139 voted against it.

An existing property tax that pays off all construction bonds in the Simsboro district will bump its millage rate up from 5.95 mills to 11.5 mills to accommodate the newly approved debt.

“That was important for the Simsboro school and the community there,” said Schools Superintendent Ricky Durrett, himself a previous principal and coach at Simsboro.

“Redoing an ag shop they’d outgrown several years ago, providing more opportunities for the kids there, putting in more classrooms, those are all important things to give students an opportunity to learn and grow.”

The plan also includes renovations to the gymnasium lobby.

“We’re trying to make that more user friendly, better restrooms and not quite so crowded,” Durrett said.

A new pre-K playground, improved auditorium seating, and new lights at the baseball and softball fields round out the improvements.

Durrett said administration will meet with the architect in the next few weeks to begin determining the order in which these projects will be bid out and performed.

He said none of the construction would begin before school starts in the fall, likely some time between November and January of 2024.

Turnout in the election was 11.6%, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office website.