, Publisher
10-19-2009
Voters in Choudrant decided Saturday that it’s time to give Choudrant High and Choudrant Elementary schools a facelift.
Residents voted overwhelmingly to support a $9 million bond that will pay to renovate and expand both schools.
By a vote of 461 to 342 (or 57 percent to 43 percent), Choudrant residents voted in favor of a 21 mill, 20-year bond. By a vote of 456 to 344 (or 57 percent to 43 percent), voters also supported a 10-year, 3 mill property tax.
Representatives with the Lincoln Parish School System got exactly what they wanted Saturday night, and congratulations are in order. The children of Choudrant will benefit from better schools.
Even some Choudrant residents who had opposed an earlier proposition in 2007 supported the new proposition. They said that property owners in Choudrant would now only have to pay about half of what the 2007 proposed bond asked.
The election, however, did not happen without a show of opposition from some residents during the final days leading up to it.
One Choudrant resident, James Lowery, posted a large sign in front of his home urging residents to vote against the 2009 proposition.
He and other opponents said it’s unfair to ask business owners and property owners to shoulder the load to pay for a project that benefits everybody.
The election is over — even Lowery said Saturday night that the election is good news for the children of Choudrant.
Construction work is scheduled to begin possibly next summer — it’s now time for every resident of Choudrant to support the renovations, regardless of how they voted Saturday.
It’s time for everyone to come together and celebrate the birth of planned improvements at the two schools. The schools’ students have already been recognized in the past for their academic performance.
Now with the community funding changes to beautify the schools’ environments, the students will know for sure that residents value what they are doing today to become great citizens of tomorrow.
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