Ascension Parish voters will decide Saturday whether to renew an existing property tax to pay for $110 million in school renovations and expansions, including a new school building for Lake Elementary School.
The 20-year bond issue would also pay for added classrooms, new gyms, improved kitchens, better air conditioning, new security systems and roof replacements across the public school system, officials say.
The bond issue would be financed with the renewal of the 15.08-mill capital construction property tax. A homeowner with property worth $250,000 and a homestead exemption would continue to pay about $263.90 per year if the tax is renewed.
It would be the sixth time the tax has been renewed since 1999.
Past renewals have financed the fast-growing district's expansion with new or larger schools. But this time the district is turning more toward upgrades of existing schools.
"This 15.08 is not a new tax. It is a renewal, and I just think it has the potential to continue to develop our school district and to continue to provide those high-quality school buildings (in which) students can learn and grow," Superintendent Edith Walker said.
Topping the list of projects is the $50 million expansion of Lake Elementary School, a prekindergarten through eighth-grade school in the northeastern corner of the parish.
School officials want to buy land nearby, build a new middle school building and add modular buildings for Lake to expand the school's overall capacity.
The new Prairieville High School, which opens this fall after support from an earlier bond issue, forced redistricting of all east bank high school feeder systems. The changes will send more students this fall to Lake Elementary, which is off La. 431 and west of the Amite River.
Other big-ticket capital projects include a $17 million renovation and expansion of Dutchtown High School's athletic, industrial arts and agricultural sciences spaces; $13 million on a classroom addition, cafeteria renovation and other improvements to Gonzales Middle School; and $10 million on new auxiliary gyms for Central and St. Amant middle schools.
Some additional improvements include $3 million in roofing replacements for St. Amant High and Lowery Middle schools and $1.5 million in kitchen and serving-line upgrades to Donaldsonville High and Gonzales Primary schools.
If approved, the renewal would extend the 15.08-mill property tax and Ascension's construction debts by four years to 2044.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To find your polling place and other information, visit .
