FAQ

The Hereford Bond – FAQ

LINK TO MORE FAQs

  • When was the last time Hereford ISD had a successful bond election?
    • Approximately 42 years ago.


  • Will wind farms be required to pay the same tax that other citizens do?
    • Yes. For bonded indebtedness windfarms will pay the same rate that everyone will pay.


  • How are you informing the public about the bond?
    • We have handed out brochures all over town and have placed them in many businesses for the public to find. They are in both English and Spanish
    • Our Superintendent, Sheri Blankenship, has visited with many businesses, groups and individuals to explain the bond. If you want to schedule a visit with her please let us know.
    • We are holding 3 public meetings to explain the bond. One has already been held at Amarillo College and the second one was held at 7:00 a.m. (Yes a.m. for you early risers) on April 14th at the Senior Citizens Center. Our last public meeting is scheduled at 7:00 p.m. on May 4th at the Community Center. Please join us and feel free to ask anything you want regarding the bond.


  • You want our help with the bond, what has the school done on it’s own to take care of its’ buildings? Over the past 10 to 12 years the district through its’ fund balance has done the following.
    • New energy efficient windows in almost all campuses. Jr. High will be done this summer.
    • Remodeled West Central
    • Built new Science labs at the High School
    • Remodeled the cafeteria at the High School
    • Installed new roofs and parking lots at several campuses this past summer
    • Replaced and upgraded HVAC units and Boiler units as needed
    • Purchased two new Activity busses last year for our students
    • Did approximately $1,000,000 in upgrades to our technology infrastructure so our students can stay current on technology


  • Will the new Early Childhood Center be open for all eligible students in the district?
    • While we can’t commit to that at this time due to State funding constraints we are building additional classrooms in the unit and hope to be able to include all eligible students one day.

  • What will happen to Stanton?
    • Our priority and attention is focused on the current bond. Depending on the outcome we will decide on the future of Stanton after the election.


  • Why don’t we build a new High School?
    • A new high school has been discussed and is on the list of future projects. The facilities committee had to take a long look at all of the districts facilities and our needs. Then it had to prioritize what we needed the most and that was what was included in the bond.


  • Will we get anything tangible for the money being spent.
    • Yes. When the construction is finished the district will have a total of 8 new brick and mortar structures.


  • Why does it cost so much to build the activity centers at the elementary schools?
    • As a school district we are required to construct buildings to certain specifications. The buildings we build are brick and mortar of high quality that will still be here and useable for 40 to 50 years. As a school building we must have certain safe guards for the students including sprinkler systems, secure entrances as well as up to date and efficient heating and cooling systems. We also will be constructing these for many different activities including physical education for the students, assemblies, public presentations, sporting events such as basketball and many other things. The costs also include all of the equipment and furniture to make it useable for many things.


  • What all is included in the safety and security portion of the bond?
    • It will include controlled and secure entrances for all campuses in order to provide safety and security for our students and staff.
    • In addition to that it will provide other security items such as fire alarm systems, sprinkler systems, new bell systems, security cameras and monitoring systems. Everything we can do to provide a secure environment for our students.


  • Will the press box be renovated as part of the bond?
    • No. There are no plans to renovate the press box or install an elevator with bond funds.


  • Will any bond funds be used to pay for short lived equipment or items such as school busses, technology, roofs or parking lots?
    • No it will not pay for anything of that nature.
    • Any purchases for short life equipment, replacement of roofs or repairs to parking lots, etc. will be funded from district to fund balance or from operating budgets.


  • What is the Learning and Dressing Facilities about?
    • It will include upgrades to varsity dressing rooms at the gymnasium
    • It will include ADA (Americans with Disability) access to the gym
    • It will include a new dressing and training facility to replace the old field house. This will also incorporate classrooms for our students taking trainer classes. This facility will be used by multiple sports including football, baseball, track, baseball, cross country
    • This will also provide new restroom and concession facilities at the stadium


  • Why is the Early Childhood Center costing more than Amarillo College’s building?
    • The proposed square footage for the early childhood center is approximately twice as big as that of the AC’s building.
    • Quite a bit of the furniture was already available for the AC building. The cost for the early childhood center will include all new furniture, technology and equipment to make the facility fully operational. Also AC was able to secure grants to purchase a lot of their equipment such as computers and this isn’t reflected in the cost of the building.
    • AC is a metal building finished out with exterior coverings. The early childhood center will be constructed of brick and mortar and should have a useful life span of over 50 to 60 years.
    • AC has 19 classrooms constructed for college age students. Some of these are rather large, open areas such as for their truck driving school which costs less to construct than public school classrooms. The early childhood center will have a minimum of 26 classrooms constructed specifically for 3 and 4 year olds. The federal guidelines require specific minimum construction requirements on educational facilities including classroom size, bathroom facilities, storage and security components and ADA accessibility. For example, where AC has only 2 bathrooms in their facility, the early childhood center will be required to have at minimum 1 bathroom per every 2 classrooms. This isn’t counting the restrooms for the staff and visitors.
    • The early childhood center will also have a cafeteria, auditorium, possible gym area and playground area which the AC campus does not have.
    • The AC facility was constructed in 2012 based on 2012 construction costs. The early childhood center would potentially be built in 2018 or 2019. Construction costs have gone up quite a bit in that time frame so square footage costs will be considerably higher.
    • The estimated costs for the early childhood center is just that, an estimate. Depending on the final design and the bids for the construction, the actual cost could come in at a lower amount.


If you have other questions, please do not hesitate to contact Sheri Blankenship at (806) 363-7600. The next public meeting is scheduled for May 4, 2017 at 7:00pm at the Hereford Community Center.