At its regular meeting on March 19, the New Braunfels ISD board of trustees voted unanimously in favor of a $106.7 million bond election that will be held in November, although officials said the amount of the bond could increase as the district explores additional needs.

“We have the opportunity to do this before we have to come back and address a second high school, which will probably be the next need around 2026,” NBISD Superintendent Randy Moczygemba said.

A facilities committee that has been assessing needs for the district's growth since January 2017 made $84 million in recommendations to the board on priority projects in February. The funding would cover construction of a 1,500-student capacity middle school for $54 million as well as $1 million for demolishing the Ninth Grade Center at 659 Guenther Ave., where a proposed 900-student capacity elementary school would be built for an estimated $29 million. The new two-story elementary school would replace the Carl Schurz and Seele elementary school campuses. An additional $11 million would go to upgrades and repairs to existing facilities.

The facilities committee also recommended relocating current Ninth Grade Center students to New Braunfels Middle School and repurposing the Schurz Elementary School campus for the School of Choice and Disciplinary Alternative Education Program operations as well as space for support services. The cost of those undertakings would be “minimal” according to the committee, and the DAEP building at 902 W. San Antonio St. would be placed on the market.

Additional needs identified by NBISD brought the proposed bond amount to more than $106 million, which would include adding eight classrooms to Veramendi Elementary School that would add nine more years of capacity to the campus.

NBISD has until Aug. 20 to set an official bond amount and file for a November election. Moczygemba said funding acquired through the bond would be used for projects that would accommodate the district’s short-term needs.

“Bond elections typically address projects that are needed within a five-year period because the cost of inflation, and those things make it harder to ask for bond money that will be funding projects that will be more than five years out,” he said.

If passed, the $106 million bond would mean a 3 cent total projected interest and syncing, or I & S, tax rate increase over a three-year period. If the bond amount increases, the tax rate increase would also be affected.

The school board also approved a motion to appoint a committee to review, discuss and recommend possible actions for school safety and security.

The motion passed 5-1, with board member Michael Calta casting the lone opposition vote. He cited time constraints for the budget as a concern and recommended the school board address campus safety issues itself.

“If we set up a committee, it’s going to delay the process,” Calta said. “I just think it’s a great responsibility for us to take head-on.”

The motion to form the committee passed with an amendment that requires the committee to present recommendations to the board by its May 21 board meeting. Another amendment limits the total committee size to 15 people, which would not include Moczygemba and NBISD school board President James Bettersworth, who will serve as nonvoting ex-officio members.

The decision follows the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed and another 17 were injured. After the shooting, NBISD held parent, staff and community forums to gather ideas for school safety.

“Mr. Bettersworth would like a committee appointed to review all of those issues and make recommendations to bring back to the board of trustees for possible approval,” Moczygemba said.

Depending on the committee's findings, funding for security measures could be placed in the November bond election package or appear on the ballot as a separate proposition, according to NBISD Communications Director Rebecca Villarreal.