"It is a historical night for Beaumont," district Superintendent Carrol Thomas said Tuesday at a bond supporter gathering at the Entergy Texas building downtown.

"The relationships between diverse parts of our community that were strengthened in order to pass this proposal will be as important for the students and future of Beaumont as the projects themselves," Thomas said.

The superintendent said cooperation between Beaumont's business community, religious leaders and local chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the League of United Latin American Citizens was essential to the proposal's success.

Voters supported the bond with 57.53 percent in favor to 42.47 percent opposed, or 8,634 votes to 6,373. The early vote was 3,664-3,314 in favor.

Tom Neild, who led opposition to the bond proposal, called the district's victory disappointing.

"I disagreed with the path they chose, but I agree that there is a lot to be done, and if this is what the majority has chosen, then I will support it," said Neild, co-owner of a Beaumont general contracting firm.

Issuing bonds for the construction projects will increase the school district's portion of taxes for a $100,000 home by $97.50 during the 2008-09 school year, according to information produced by the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, which endorsed the proposal.

Taxes for a $100,000 home will then increase by $52.50 for the 2009-10 school year and again by $45.00 for the 2010-11 school year.

Those 65 and older will see no tax increase because their rates are frozen.

Jim Rich, Beaumont Chamber of Commerce president, has said the proposal's passage is key to Beaumont's ability to exploit looming industrial expansions expected to bring millions of dollars and thousands of workers into the area.

"This is a leap forward for us in terms of getting caught up to where we need to be," Rich said Tuesday at the Entergy building. "This will all happen in three to four years, at the same time as this boom that will probably last 10 years."

Rich pointed to Eastman Chemical Co.'s recent decision to locate a $1.6 billion gasification plant in Beaumont as an indication of the influence schools have on industry decisions.

"When they were here they were very interested in the bond issue and why our schools had not been better maintained," Rich said of Eastman, which donated $5,000 to the chamber's committee supporting the bond proposal.

Thomas said the three proposed construction phases could change once they are vetted by the district's project manager, Houston-based Parsons Corp.

"We hope any changes to the construction phases will be minimal, but they may come to us and say something just isn't feasible," Thomas said.

Though not hired pending voter approval of the proposal, the district has said Parsons would receive a flat fee of $9 million to manage the four-year project.

In the proposal, the first phase of construction will include new classrooms and science labs at West Brook, new classrooms at Central and new science labs at Ozen. Also on tap are replacement of the Regina Howell campus, replacement of the Amelia school, a new Blanchette-Bingman school, a new Martin-Lucas school, and more classrooms at Fletcher.

The first phase also includes purchasing land for a districtwide multi-purpose center, a $29.9 million project that will include a stadium and swimming complex.

The district will spend $166.7 million on elementary schools, building nine new schools to replace 14 existing ones and expanding other existing campuses.

Construction plans include $53.8 million in improvements to high schools and $42.8 million for middle schools.

In 2002, voters defeated a $150 million Beaumont bond proposal by 8,309 votes to 5,099 votes.

rmyers@beaumontenterprise.com (409) 880-0736