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Children in West Odessa line up to board their school bus before dawn on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023.

In West Texas, schools hope skeptical voters will OK debt to upgrade crumbling, overcrowded buildings

The West Texas ethos of low taxes and small government has been hard for school leaders to overcome. Voters have rejected bond issues in Midland and Odessa during the last decade.


Margarita Soto, far right, walks to their community school-bus stop in the rain with her grandchildren Cameron and Lin Soto before dawn Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023 in West Odessa.
Nimitz Middle School 7th grade teacher’s aide Pricilla Martinez leads her class in an activity Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa. Martinez said that due to the increased amount of families moving to the Permian Basin, they sometimes teach 38 to 40 kids per class. “It’s been six weeks and I still don’t know all of their names… Its embarrassing to me,” Martinez said.
A cluster of portable classrooms at Nimitz Middle School is seen pictured Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.
Bonham Middle School students walk between classes Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.
A decaying ceiling and leaking air conditioner are seen in a room used for storage at Bonham Middle School Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa. The school, which was built in 1954, is now seeing advanced signs of aging such as a leaking roof, decaying infrastructure and foundational cracking.
An aging control panel to the Bonham Middle School auditorium’s stage is seen in a steel cage Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa. The controls are locked in a steel cage when not in use to protect students from accidentally bumping into them.
Bonham Middle School students walk to the next class between periods Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.

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Politics Public education Permian Basin School finance