School board sends $17.5M facilities package to voters

For the second consecutive year, the Lincoln Parish school system will ask residents in the Ruston district to approve financing for a slate of facilities projects at the polls in April.

After voters in 2023 rejected a $65 million bond proposal largely aimed at consolidating the city’s elementary schools, the Lincoln Parish School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to try again, this time with a $17.5 million package for athletics upgrades, security improvements, parking and other projects at Ruston High and Ruston Junior High.

An April 27 election will determine whether the board can issue the general obligation bonds necessary to finance these upgrades, such as a $5 million, multi-sport covered pavilion and turf at RHS; $3.5 million renovations to the RHS softball team’s old field so they can move back there; and $500,000 for advanced body scan machines for the entrances at both schools.

To pay back the bonds, the board would hold steady an existing property tax at its current rate of 16.75 mills for the next five years in the Ruston district, which extends beyond the city limits.

After holding one initial open meeting to detail the proposal last week, board members and staff vowed Tuesday to continue meeting with the public ahead of the election.

“It will be up to us as a faculty, staff, administration and board to have some more community meetings, get the word out there to everybody on what it is we’re going to do, what all is included in this, and hopefully get good information for people to make a decision on,” Superintendent Ricky Durrett said after the meeting.

The board also unanimously approved a $2 million capital improvement plan in the Choudrant school district, which will also require an April 27 election for voters in that area. That package would include three new classrooms and restrooms for Choudrant Elementary and a multipurpose room for Choudrant High.

Several of the board members who voted against last year’s proposal gave comment before Tuesday’s vote, saying they would agree to advance the Ruston package to voters despite various misgivings.

Durrett said “a lot of time was spent” in creating the proposal, and RHS Principal Dan Gressett said during the public comment period that many of the projects at his school had been considered for years and would be widely beneficial for all students.

Meanwhile, board Vice President Danielle Williams said the plan was “rushed” and some board members didn’t know about it until a few weeks ago and didn’t get all the details until a private meeting Monday.

Williams said she’d rather see the board wait until the November election before moving forward, but since that would be too late to affect this year’s property tax levy, she agreed to vote to move the projects forward Tuesday.

Here’s the full list of projects on tap in the Ruston district proposal:

Athletics

• RHS covered pavilion: $5 million
• RHS softball field upgrades: $3.5 million
• RHS baseball field upgrades: $2.2 million
• RHS gym renovations for boys and girls basketball: $1.5 million

Security

• RJHS fencing and gates: $1.2 million
• RHS entrance upgrades: $750,000
• RHS body scan machines: $300,000
• RJHS body scan machines: $200,000

Other

• RHS roof repair: $1 million
• Ruston district activity buses: $900,000
• RHS new parking lot: $330,000
• Unassigned funds: $320,000
• RJHS parking extension: $300,000