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NEW LONDON, Texas (KETK) – West Rusk County Consolidated ISD is asking voters to pass a $23,404,459 bond to fund a new elementary school for the district.

The proposed 45,138-square-foot elementary school will include a new music room and a multi-purpose gymnasium with a stage, according to West Rusk CCISD’s 2025 Bond website.

This bond comes after voters rejected the district’s last two attempted bonds which aimed to fix aging or broken infrastructure, including mold and water damage, in the district’s schools.

“We have lots of water damage, lots of structural damage that can only be fixed for so long,” West Rusk Elementary Principal Carlette Mills told KETK’s Tori Bean in Nov. 2024.

The bond would be funded by a proposed 21-cent property tax increase that would not impact taxpayers 65 or older if they’ve applied or received the age-65 homestead exemption freeze.

The district shared the following graph of how a 21-cent tax increase would impact home values:

Voters will have to turn out to voice their opinions on the new bond proposal during the elections on May 3. There are polling locations at the New London Community Center and the Rusk County Election Department.