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Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hays school district asks voters to approve $968M in bonds for new schools, expansions
The Hays school district is asking voters on May 3 to approve $968.6 million in bonds that would pay for several projects, including a new high school, two new elementary schools, several school expansions and an outdoor pavilion for athletic and fine arts activities. It also would pay for new school buses with seatbelts. In March 2024 a concrete truck driver hit a Hays school district bus carrying students from Tom Green Elementary and their families on a field trip. Two people were killed, including a child in the bus that had no seatbelts. Dozens of other bus passengers were rushed to hospitals with cuts and bruises. "At that time, the district made a plan to accelerate getting buses that had seatbelts," said Tim Savoy, the district's communication officer. Ninety percent of the district's regular buses are now equipped with seatbelts, said Savoy. If voters approve the buses requested in the bond, he said, all of the district's regular school buses will have seatbelts. Among 13 Central Texas school districts, an American-Statesman analysis in November found that only four have bus fleets fully outfitted with seat belts while four others have at least 75% of their fleets with restraints. More: Deadly Hays crash reveals Texas school buses lack seat belts: 'They should know better.' The proposed bond package, which is split into five different propositions, is the biggest in the district's history, Savoy said. During the bond election in 2023, voters approved $315.7 million in bonds but they turned down the outdoor pavilions for fine arts and athletics that are included in this year's bond package. If approved, Savoy said, the bonds this year would not raise property tax rates because the growth in the county is expected to bring in more revenue. Hays County had 292,029 residents in July 2024, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census. The estimated population in 2020 was 241,067. More: Hays CISD could call almost $900M bond vote to expand, build schools More: Hays school district calls $368 million bond. Here's what district hopes to get. "We are growing anywhere from 800 to 1,000 kids a year and that is projected to continue for the next decade or more," said Savoy. The current student population of 24,144 is expected to grow to 45,019 by 2034, according to district figures. The district, which covers 221 square miles, serves the cities of Kyle and Buda and other areas in northern Hays County. The five bond propositions are: Proposition A: $498.9 million is proposed for these projects: Hays High School: Academic expansion to accommodate 2,800 students, renovation of cafeteria and other maintenance and improvement projects. Johnson High School: New weight room and additional parking. Lehman High School: Academic expansion to 2,800 student capacity, new all-purpose gym, kitchen addition and cafeteria renovation, new weight room Artificial turf at all middle schools Wallace Middle School: Running tracks to be resurfaced to maintain safety and proper playability McCormick Middle School: Running track to be resurfaced to maintain safety, weight room and locker room additions, art room renovation, driveway expansion, utility renovation, athletic turf and track improvements, temporary portable building relocation Simon Middle School: Academic expansion to 1,200 student capacity, weight room and locker room renovation, performing arts studio addition, art room renovation, athletic turf and track improvements Barton, Chapa and Dahlstrom middle schools: Athletic turf and track improvements, running tracks to be resurfaced to maintain safety and proper playability Elementary 18: Construction in northeast part of district, location to be determined. Elementary 19: Design, location to be determined. Hemphill, Fuentes, Kyle and Tom Green elementaries: Add classrooms and other additions to expand schools to 900-student capacity each, refresh amenities to be consistent with current elementary prototype Maintenance: Roof maintenance and replacement at Kyle, Negley, Science Hall and Tom Green elementaries, Barton and Chapa middle schools and Hays High School. Mechanical, electrical, plumbing and life safety system replacements at Kyle, Negley, Pfluger, Science Hall and Tom Green elementaries, Barton and Chapa middle schools, Hays High School and Shelton Stadium. Uhland Maintenance Facility: Construction of new facility Buses: Thirty buses, including 22 for daily transport. The other eight buses are activity buses with storage compartments for equipment including band instruments. Security: Parking lot access control buildings, districtwide re-key, wayfinding signage Career & Technical Education: Cycle replacement of tools and equipment; addition of Fire Academy burn tower; purchase of self-contained breathing apparatus, packs and accessories Athletics and fine arts: Cycle replacements including but not limited to uniforms, equipment and instruments Proposition B: $396 million is proposed for comprehensive high school #4. The district has three traditional high schools with activities including band, sports and theater, and one high school for early graduation and self-paced students, The new high school will be designed for 2,800 students at Main Street and Turnersville Road in Buda and will open in 2029. Proposition C: $6 million to expand the sub varsity stadium at the Bob Shelton Stadium. The seating capacity will be expanded to allow for a second, shared district varsity competition space to accommodate the new high school. The anticipated total capacity will be approximately 8,500 people. Proposition D: $51.3 million for construction and equipping of four outdoor, covered and lighted athletics and fine arts educational, rehearsal and performance facilities. The facilities will be at Hays, Johnson and Lehman high schools, and comprehensive high school #4. Proposition E: $16.2 million for technology. This would replace old network campus data switches; provide uninterruptible power supplies for campuses; provide voltage regulation and stable power for expensive network equipment and replace phone systems at all campuses because the manufacturer no longer supports the current phone system. It also would provide non-brand specific tablets, computers and laptops for student use at campuses; replace old, outdated or broken school campus sound systems; replace outdated district printshop machines and provide new copiers to save money instead of leasing them. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: What voters get if they approve $968M bond package for Hays schools
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Will a Texas bill shield trucking companies from crash lawsuits? It depends on who you ask
A Buda educator who was injured last year when a concrete pump truck crashed into a school bus is among more than two dozen survivors and family members who are opposing a bill that could change how and when commercial vehicle companies are liable for such collisions. 'I closed my eyes, and I held my daughter really tight,' Victoria Limon, a special education aide and mother at Tom Green Elementary, told members of the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday as she recalled the school bus crash in which she was injured and which also killed a 5-year-old child and a 33-year-old doctoral student. 'If the trucking company had only done its due diligence and known to do a background check and known that its driver was on drugs that day,' Limon added. Critics of Senate Bill 39, including the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the consumer watchdog group Texas Watch, argue that the legislation would allow trucking companies to avoid liability by hiding behind their drivers. But proponents, including the trucking industry and the influential group Texans for Lawsuit Reform, say the bill protects trucking companies from frivolous and costly lawsuits that have risen dramatically in recent years. The bill repeals an amendment to a 2021 law that was intended to be a compromise among trial lawyers, victims and the trucking industry on civil lawsuits. House Bill 19 allowed trucking companies to request civil lawsuits filed against them to be split into two parts. In the first, a jury rules on the negligence of the driver and the company, and decides on compensatory damages, which are meant to cover the plaintiff's medical and psychological costs. In the second part, the jury rules on punitive damages, which are meant to punish a company if it is found to have recklessly or intentionally cut corners. The compromise amendment allowed plaintiffs' lawyers to present evidence to juries about a driver's condition — like being drunk or ineligible to drive — as proof of a company's negligence. But the trucking industry has argued that if companies are paying compensatory damages based on their drivers' missteps, their own safety records should not be introduced until the second part of the trial. 'We have companies that are pulled into these lawsuits where they were not at fault, but it doesn't matter,' Texas Trucking Association President John Esparza told the American-Statesman. The bill's author, Sen. Brian Birdwell, a Granbury Republican, did not respond to a request for comment. Former state Rep. Eddie Lucio III, the sponsor of the bill amendment that SB 39 would repeal, has said he supports the new legislation. Now a paid lobbyist for Texans for Lawsuit Reform, Lucio said in his Wednesday testimony that he believes his past legislation had an adverse effect on small-business owners, largely by contributing to crippling insurance rates. Insurance rates have increased by 73% for commercial vehicles since 2017, a rate very similar to the increase for all vehicles during that same span, according to a Texas Department of Insurance 2024 report. The trial lawyers association has rejected the claim that civil suits are the cause for the state's insurance rate inflation, attributing the blame to climate change, rising vehicle costs and malpractice within the insurance industry itself. 'We are on decade three or four of tort reform in Texas,' Texas Trial Lawyers Association president Jack Walker said. 'Never ever do we see insurance rates go down.' Instead, Walker argues that the bill would let trucking companies escape financial liability for any misdeeds by removing possibly damning evidence until the second phase of the trial, thus centering the question of responsibility on drivers. 'It would let the bad trucking companies escape liability almost completely,' Walker said. After the school bus crash, Limon and other parents filed multiple civil lawsuits against the company that owned the concrete pump truck that an investigation found caused the accident, accusing it of negligence. The truck driver, 42-year-old Jerry Hernandez, is facing a negligent homicide charge. At the time of the crash, Hernandez had a suspended driver's license due to a failed drug test. He told investigators that he had smoked marijuana and done 'a small amount' of cocaine the night before the crash. All cases remain pending. Scott Hendler, the attorney representing Limon, said SB 39 would hinder a crash victim's ability to hold trucking companies fully accountable in court by allowing the omission of crucial evidence that demonstrates how the company operates. 'There are more bad actors than just the drivers,' he said. 'All the bad actors that contribute should be on the verdict form and assigned some amount of responsibility.' If the bill doesn't limit a victim from going after a negligent company, 'then that language should be in the bill,' Hendler said. Mark Macias, the attorney for Hernandez's employer, did not respond to a request for comment. Justin Fohn, the attorney for Hernandez, declined to comment. The debate over the bill also comes a month after a semi-truck crashed into merging traffic on Interstate 35 in North Austin, killing five people and sparking several lawsuits against the driver and the trucking company he worked for. A preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the crash occurred because the driver failed to slow down. "All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events,' the report said. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Senate Bill 39 could change how truck crash lawsuits work
