AUSTIN, Texas -- Voters will decide the fates of several Austin area schools.
The school board has called for a bond election for their $1 billion proposal. The biggest chunk of that is earmarked for the renovation and modernization of 16 schools; one of them is the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders.
"You could just see how they work all summer to make it beautiful for the girls on the first day of school," said principal, Jeanne Goka.
After 58 proud years, the school is starting to show its age.
"The roof is old, the building is old, understandably, there are leaks. The librarian had to get up on a chair to puncture holes to release the pressure of the water into a bucket," said Goka.
A few uninvited guests also found their way into campus.
"The raccoons and rats, they climb up these pipes,” Goka said. "At night, when I check the building, I can hear them up in the loft. They're scurrying about. It's kinda creepy."
Even without the urban wildlife, school leaders are worried about safety.
"It just scares me because, she said, 'oh by the way, when the girls plug into these floor outlets, there are sparks.'" said Goka.
The Ann Richards School is one of 16 campuses included in Austin ISD's bond. Renovations and upgrades are top of the list, but it may also include new facilities.
"Before we approached it with a 'band aid' approach and 'let's just fix what we need to fix and maybe add a new air conditioning system and new roofs,'” said Austin ISD’s Reyne Telles. “This time we said, 'what do we need to do to make it a premier 21st century learning space?'"
But all of that remains up in the air, until voters cast their ballots. In the meantime, the school says these students know how to hold their own.
"They have a lot of grit and they're gonna learn in spite of other obstacles in their lives,” Goka said.
The bond election is November 7th. Early voting starts October 23rd.