Thrall school district voters on Saturday easily approved $2.73 million in bonds for improvements and renovations to the district's school campus.

The bond proposal passed 222 to 125, with nearly40 percent of the school district's registered voters turning out, said Superintendent Tom Bowman. He did not know the exact number of registered voters.

The bonds will pay for adding 12 -school wing, an athletic complex, a cafetorium and a band hall to the campus, which houses kindergarten through 12th grade.

The existing band hall and cafeteria will be converted to classrooms for secondary grades. The athletic complex will include the district's first track, a new field house, a football field, bleachers and concessions.

''We think it's a real opportunity for improvement, and we're real excited about it,'' Bowman said. ''I'm very pleased with the turnout. I think it's a real accurate representation of how the community feels.''

The district, with just more than 500 students, received a $51,289 state grant last week that will reduce the annual payment on the bonds to $175,609, Bowman said. Thrall is east of Taylor in eastern Williamson County.

To pay for the rest, Bowman said, the district's property tax rate would need to increase about 7.6 cents per $100 of assessed value in 1998 and approximately 20 cents in 1999. The district's current tax rate is $1.10 per $100 of taxable value.

Jack Jordan, principal of the high school, said paying off the bonds will increase taxes by $129.50 a year on a home valued at $50,000, the average in the district.

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