The CISD board of trustees originally planned to bring a $397.7 million bond to voters during the May 2020 election before canceling the election due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In preparation for the upcoming 2021 bond, many of the projects included in the previous package have been carried into the propositions in the new package, according to Steve Stanford, assistant superintendent of communications and organizational alignment for CISD.
“[The bond] very much looks the same in terms of the core projects,” Stanford said. “What we’re proposing in this bond ... these are things that are identified as needs.”
Proposition A will include approximately $411.29 million in funding for two new elementary schools, one new middle school, land acquisition for future campuses, capital projects and buses.
The proposition also includes funding to purchase land for and construct a replacement for the Hill Country College Preparatory High School.
By 2025, the board anticipates the district could have 24 elementary schools, up from the current 18 elementary schools.
“If you look at this past year during the pandemic, we exceeded our expectations for growth; we continue to grow and have new students come in throughout the entire year,” Stanford said. “When you're looking at 1,000 students per year on average, you're going to be opening new schools continually.”
Included in Proposition A are funds to construct an elementary school to provide relief for Freiheit Elementary and Clear Spring Elementary schools as both facilities are near capacity, Stanford said.
Upgrading existing campuses
As the district continues adding new schools to keep up with the student population, those involved in planning the bond have also focused on updating existing campuses.
The recent opening of new schools such as Davenport High School and Piper Ranch Middle School have highlighted the need to update facilities at older campuses to ensure the program options are equitable throughout the district, Stanford said.
“For me, keeping up with growth is going to be something that we're going to be struggling with forever and a day,” CISD board President Jason York said. “It's really going to be the reinvestment in existing campuses we have to make sure that we have really every campus that we can be as educationally sound as possible, ... not only with programs, but really the facilities themselves.”
Approximately $61.49 million in funding is allocated to Proposition B, which will cover costs to improve athletic facilities at several campuses.
Proposition C is expected to include approximately $20.4 million in funding for expansions and upgrades to the stadiums at Davenport High School and Canyon Lake High School, Stanford said.
Funding for teacher and student technology upgrades, including new laptops for teachers and replacing old equipment, is anticipated to be included in the $34.54 million outlined in Proposition D.
Building a simple ballot
While the district expects to dedicate more funding to improve existing facilities, plans for a multiuse event center have been removed from the 2021 bond proposal.
Originally proposed for the May 2020 bond, the event center would have been used as a location for graduation ceremonies, regional competitions and other activities, Stanford said.
In June, the board of trustees announced plans to hold a tax ratification election in November with the goal of raising taxes to secure additional funding for teacher raises. A school district must hold a tax election to raise the existing tax rate, and the CISD board plans to direct additional revenue received to staffing expenses if the tax election is passed.
Though the tax election is not part of the bond, York said moving forward with a proposition related to the event center would complicate communication efforts between the district and voters.
“I would say that the board's appetite right now is, at least based on the last meeting, was to look at removing it but not to just remove it forever,” York said. “We didn't want such a busy ballot.”
The district plans to keep its current $0.35 interest and sinking tax rate, which pays for any bond debt issued by the district and gives the district a bond capacity of $550 million, Stanford said.
Early voting will take place between Oct. 18-29, and Election Day is Nov. 2.
