At a board workshop on April 14, the Comal ISD board of trustees elected to cancel the upcoming 2020 Bond Election.

The election was scheduled for May 2, but was canceled due to concerns for voter safety and turnout due to the coronavirus.

Governor Abbott authorized political subdivisions such as CISD to postpone or cancel their May elections on March 18, and on March 20 the Comal County Clerk notified CISD that it would be unable to run the district’s election.

“Right now, the state’s focus is responding to COVID-19—including social distancing and avoiding large gatherings,” Abbott said in a press release. “By delaying [May elections], our local election officials can assist in that effort.”

Some board members had also expressed concern about added economic pressure from the pandemic and how it may impact the community’s willingness to pass the bond’s four propositions.

“I think it would behoove us to see what it does to the economy before we go out for a bond,” said trustee Dr. Denise Kern at a board meeting on March 24. “I think we would be smart to either postpone or cancel.”

According to CISD Superintendent Andrew Kim, the board of trustees chose to cancel the election rather than postpone it until November to increase the district’s flexibility in deciding when to hold the election.

“We just don’t know what’s ahead for us economically,” Kern said.

The board of trustees has until August to decide if it will include the bond in the November 3 general election, and until early next year to order a May 2021 bond election.

The bond and its propositions

In response to continued population growth in Comal and surrounding counties, the CISD board of trustees and the Comal Forward Committee began planning the 2020 bond in fall of 2019 to decide what to include in each proposition.

It was finalized in February 2020 and was approved by the school board in February.

The bond package totals $397.7 million, with four propositions that would provide funding for the construction of new schools, a multi-use event center, upgrades to extracurricular support facilities and technology upgrades throughout the district.

Should the bond be rescheduled, residents will be able to vote on each proposition separately.

The bond originally included just two propositions for voters but new state legislation required the administration to divide the bond into the four existing propositions, according to CISD Executive Director of Communications Steve Stanford.

Senate Bill 30, which was passed Sept. 1, 2019, requires separate propositions for projects that are not part of the construction, acquisition and equipment of school buildings.

Proposition A includes funds for the construction of two new elementary schools and one middle school that will offer relief to several existing schools that are overcrowded.

According to the district, CISD added more than 8,000 students since 2009, and Comal County grew from 119,632 residents in 2015 to 135,097 residents in 2018, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The second proposition would fund a new event center capable of hosting large events such as graduation and prom, as well as extracurricular activities and sporting events.

“With Proposition 2, we feel that we as a growing district are at the point of needing a true event center that can house all of our extracurriculars,” said Board President Jason York. “We feel an event center will impact every one of our students.”

If passed, Propositions C and D will provide funding to upgrade existing extracurricular support facilities and to purchase additional laptops and computers for students and teachers.