Board members called on members of a community advisory committee to take on that advocacy role. More than a dozen committee members stood to show they intended to do so.

"We've just got to get out and work as hard as we can to get this bond issue passed, and I think we will," committee co-chair Paul Brown said after the meeting. "I'm just happy we got to this point. We want to move on from here."

Co-chair David Teuscher said he expects the business community to take a lead role in promoting the bond issue.

"This is a good start. This will fix the most pressing needs. Now it's up to us to help educate voters," Teuscher said. "... It's something we can afford at this level on our taxes."

A vote for the bond issue would authorize the school district to borrow up to $388.6 million to pay for new construction and improvements to district facilities.

The debt would be repaid through increases in the district's debt service tax rate, currently at 5.5 cents per $100 valuation. If the bond issue passes, the tax rate to support it could peak for two to three years at 25 cents to 27.5 cents, depending on the repayment schedule the district chooses, according to a presentation by a district consultant Tuesday.

Rather than sending voters several smaller pieces for approval, most large school districts like Beaumont opt for general, single-proposition bond elections, Lance Fox, bond counsel for the district, said before trustees voted.

Breaking the package into smaller pieces "tends to segregate and divide the community," Fox said. Then, if some projects pass and others fail, bad feelings can linger, he said.

"It makes it more difficult in the future," Fox said.

Trustee Martha Hicks thanked Fox for his comments.

"By doing it as one single bond proposition, we're sure that everyone in our school district has some of their needs taken care of," Hicks said.

Trustee William Nantz said he thought several smaller propositions could have worked, but other trustees voiced objections to the idea. Woodrow Reece, Howard Trahan and Board President Ollis Whitaker all said a single proposition was the way to go.

"To piecemeal this and some get what they want and some do not is a travesty," Whitaker said.

Board Vice President Janice Brassard said she heard from constituents who wanted to see smaller parts. "I know we honestly need everything that's in this bond," Brassard said. "... It's a hard thing to swallow."

A Thursday vote momentarily seemed derailed when Trustee Terry Williams said he needed a few more days "to keep from voting no." After a recess and a closed door meeting with Williams, Brown, Superintendent Carrol Thomas and committee member Oveal Walker, Williams joined the rest of the board in supporting a single-proposition bond issue.

The package includes $166.7 million for elementary schools, $42.8 million for middle schools, $53.8 million for high schools, $29.9 million for a district-wide athletic complex and additional money for other district improvements, inflation and project management.

If the bond passes, the plan also calls for rezoning Austin Middle School, which now feeds into Central High, to West Brook High. Students from Guess and Homer Drive elementaries would be assigned to Austin. They still could attend Central instead of West Brook if they chose with district-provided transportation.

One point of controversy as the community committee developed recommendations was the fate of South Park Middle School. Supporters of keeping the building, including many graduates of South Park High, have gathered more than 3,000 signatures on petitions.

The plan now calls for a new South Park Middle School at a new site if possible. If the existing site must be used, the district would retain as much of the existing building as possible, according to the plan.

Those parts of the plan will be presented to the board for a separate vote at a future meeting, Thomas said. The board faced a Sept. 5 deadline to call the bond election to put the issue before voters in November.

The election will be held in conjunction with a state constitutional amendment election. Early voting will be Oct. 22 to Nov. 2.

Between the input of the community committee and school trustees, the bond package represents the consensus of a diverse community, Thomas said.

"I hope everybody gets behind it even though I certainly realize there's going to be some difference of opinion about some of the things in the package," he said.

Updated 08/31/2007 12:23:59 AM CDT