The new school proposal is the latest talk amongst the coffee shop crowd.

Austin Public School board members will get a chance to hear what so many are discussing during Monday’s special session meeting.

Mark Stotts, the district’s finance and operations director, will give more details to a community task force’s proposal to build a new school for fifth and sixth-graders, as well as add onto Woodson Kindergarten Center.

The task force, created to address a growing student population and facility needs, gave the proposal to board members during the board’s April meeting.

The task force began meeting in January to discuss a 2009 demographics report which states the district would grow by almost 500 students by 2014. A facility usage study done last year revealed seven out of eight school buildings were either at or over capacity for the current school year.

The task force also recommended district officials analyze how a new school would affect the district’s budget, and recommended any proposal the board adopts to be less than $30 million. Mark Stotts, district finance and operations director, said district officials would put together a plan between $25 and $30 million if board members agreed to the proposal.

If board members decide to pursue a new school, a bond referendum would take place in November.

A $25 to $30 million bond referendum wouldn’t have a severe property tax increase, despite the costs involved. Bonds that went to Austin High School restoration costs are set to expire this year, which Stotts said amounts to about $20 million. In other words, a plan that would cost $20 million would make property taxes stay the same.

District officials did a rough cost estimate of the proposal last month, which came to about $34 million. Taking the expiring bonds into account, Stotts said a $34 million plan would increase taxes on a $125,000 home by about $100, although this amount differs based on home value.