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GLADEWATER \u2014 Gladewater ISD is asking voters to approve an $8.1 million bond for safety upgrades, new buses and career and technical education improvements, a proposal district officials say would not increase the current tax rate. The single-proposition bond would span 15 years and address transportation needs, facility renovations and equipment upgrades across the district, according to our news partner KETK.<\/p>\n
Superintendent Rae Ann Patty said the bond would not raise the district\u2019s interest and sinking (I&S) tax rate, which is currently .253336. The district passed a bond in 2014 that is set to expire in 2045 and has since paid down that debt enough to add the proposed $8.1 million while maintaining the same tax rate, according to Patty.<\/p>\n
The proposal includes the purchase of new school buses that meet updated safety standards, including seatbelt requirements. Patty said that if the bond does not pass, buses would still be prioritized but the number purchased would be reduced due to budget constraints.<\/p>\n
The bond also would fund replacement and maintenance of aging air conditioning units, heat exchangers and chillers throughout the district. Renovations and refurbishments to the interiors and exteriors of older campuses are also included.<\/p>\n
Campus safety upgrades are another component of the proposal, with improvements aimed at increasing protection for students and staff.<\/p>\n
At Gladewater High School, the bond would support renovations to career and technical education classrooms and the purchase of equipment aligned with local workforce needs. Plans include adding modern welding machines and other tools designed to help students secure jobs in industries in the Gladewater area.<\/p>\n
While there is no exact timeline for all projects if the bond is approved, Patty said district officials hope to prioritize CTE classroom upgrades, bus purchases and safety improvements during the summer so they are in place for students at the start of the 2026 school year. Other projects that would not require school closures would begin during the following school year.<\/p>\n
If voters do not approve the bond, Patty said some projects would be eliminated because they would not fit within the district\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n
Patty encouraged residents with questions or concerns to contact her, district officials or community members who have attended informational meetings.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone that is skeptical, please contact me, the schools, or people that have sat in on the meetings already,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GLADEWATER \u2014 Gladewater ISD is asking voters to approve an $8.1 million bond for safety upgrades, new buses and career and technical education improvements, a proposal district officials say would not increase the current tax rate. The single-proposition bond would span 15 years and address transportation needs, facility renovations and equipment upgrades across the district, … Continue reading $8.1M bond, but no tax increase<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1480200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2026\/02\/475930177_1218853766909928_6797057537506352592_n.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1479938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news-archive-archives"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-07 02:11:22","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2026\/02\/475930177_1218853766909928_6797057537506352592_n.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1479938"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1480572,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479938\/revisions\/1480572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1480200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1479938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1479938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1479938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}