North Lamar Bond Passes With Overwhelming Majority, Familiar Faces Elected To Board

The $51.55-million bond presented to North Lamar ISD voters met majority approval at the election polls on Saturday while electing two familiar faces, Clint Spencer and Jimmy Fendley, to the North Lamar School Board. Voters turned out in record number with 1,656 voting early and 496 votings on Election Day.

Superintendent Kelli Stewart said, “We appreciate the confidence that our community has in North Lamar ISD. On behalf of North Lamar ISD and the Board of Trustees, we want to give a heartfelt thank you to our Community Advisory Committee and North Lamar United for the hours of planning and support that they have provided for the future of our students and staff.”

Proposition A of the $43,070,000 bond project includes a new elementary campus for grades 2-5 and renovation of Everett Elementary for the new Pre-K through the first-grade campus. It will create a centralized office space for North Lamar’s Special Education staff at Bailey Intermediate. Also, safety and security improvements and facility maintenance and improvement projects at Aaron Parker Elementary, Stone Middle North Lamar High School. Due to extensive structural issues, they will demolish Higgins Elementary and replaced it with grass.

Proposition B for $1.8M will be for the purchase of 15 new buses, and Proposition C for $405,000 will go for the purchase of new laptops, iPads, and charging carts allowing a 1:1 ratio of student to learning device.

Proposition D allows $2.1M for replacing the turf at the indoor practice facility, resurfacing the track at the stadium, and repairing drainage issues to the football, baseball, and softball fields.

Proposition E for $4.2M builds a new fine arts building at the high school and reconfigures existing space for shared use by the band, choir and drama departments.

Thirty-three community leaders identified the bond projects, including business owners, parents, and staff who made up the Community Advisory Committee.

“The victory of this election belongs to our students,” said Stewart. “They are the real winners, and for that, we are eternally grateful to the voters that supported this bond.”

On May 10, at the monthly board meeting, North Lamar ISD School Board will canvas the board election and the election returns for the May 1, 2021, Bond Election. At that time, they will swear onto the board, Spencer, and Fendley.