With early voting on a $24.7 million school bond issue underway, Bonham ISD hosted its second community forum May 5, this time at I.W. Evans.

Approximately 65 concerned residents attended a question-and-answer session with representatives of Southwest Securities, Inc. and facilitated by Bob Thomas, a member of Bonham ISD Board of Trustees.

Following the meeting, students at I.W. Evans were more than happy to show visitors some of the challenges students, teachers and administrators at the 53-year-old intermediate school deal with on a daily basis: undersized classrooms, portable buildings with uneven floors that are difficult to access in inclement weather, leaks that have resulted in missing ceiling tiles and a hole forming in the ceiling of the library and a myriad of unkempt extension cords and computer wires that have resulted in at least one serious injury.

Remember that when this school was built, in 1958, a manual typewriter was state-of-the-art equipment; there was no need for the number of electrical outlets that is a necessity in most modern classrooms. Teachers at I.W. Evans have done a commendable job of finding solutions to the challenges presented by working in a building that is more than half a century old, but classroom conditions are certainly substandard when compared with nearby school districts.

If the bond issue is approved by voters, all classrooms at I.W. Evans would be enlarged in order to comply with state standards. Eight new classrooms and an additional gym would be built to resolve overcrowding. Much-needed renovations would include a new roof, as well as electrical and mechanical upgrades.

Early voting will continue May 6, May 9 and May 10. Election Day is May 14 and voters will either send I.W. Evans students back to cramped, outdated classrooms or decide to renovate the building and provide facilities that are comparable to surrounding school districts.