The Pflugerville ISD board of trustees is coming closer to a final decision on whether to call a May bond election.
The board held a work session Feb. 13 to consider a list of more than $286 million worth of facility improvements, new construction and land purchases. The board is scheduled to finalize the details of the bond proposal at its next meeting Feb. 20. The final step will then be calling the election, which must be done by Feb. 28.
The largest item in the proposed package is $104.4 million worth of funding for a fourth district high school. Other projects include building the district's 21st elementary school, replacing Timmerman Elementary School with a new building, and constructing a regional football/multi-use stadium with seating for approximately 10,000 people.
A common theme during the Feb. 13 discussion was the district's desire to take advantage of the current bond interest rates and construction costs.
"You could say this is a large bond, but in a lot of ways it is a savings," PISD Superintendent Alex Torrez said. "Because it is going to cost us a lot more in the future if we delay it."
The last time voters approved a bond package for PISD was in 2007. Those bonds—which totaled $125 million—funded the construction of two elementary schools, a middle schools, and a series of facility upgrades and improvements. Like 2007, the new bond proposal is not expected to have an effect on the current property tax rate for district residents.
Among the issues left to resolve are whether to split the election into separate proposals, and possibly setting a deadline before the election to announce the exact locations of the new high school, sports complex and new Timmerman Elementary campus.
The list and cost of projects the board is considering includes:
District facility replacements and renovations—$56,382,472
High School No. 4 (with a 3,500-person capacity stadium)—$104,400,000
Technology improvements—$20,000,000
New classrooms and labs—$8,648,000
New Timmerman Elementary School—$$22,600,000
Elementary School No. 21—$28,349,440
Remodeling of football stadiums—$7,320,000
New regional football stadium—$25,800,000
Land—$7,200,000
Contingency funds—$6,000,000
