With the November midterm election season in full swing, Round Rock ISD voters are considering a $508 million bond proposition addressing a list of roughly 200 projects across the district.

Two political action committees, or PACs, have been vocal both in opposition and support of the bond during the weeks leading up to the election.

Marshall Sprigg, coordinator for the Residents for Accountability and Transparency PAC, served on the Citizens Bond Committee, a group of volunteers tasked with vetting the bond projects and determining the district’s needs to be addressed in the proposition. Sprigg said his PAC is encouraging RRISD residents to vote against the bond.

“I joined the CBC because I wanted to have a bond that met the needs of the kids but that was not excessive in terms of its cost and that wasn’t padded with a lot of surplus money that then could be spent at the discretion of the board of trustees,” Sprigg said. “The concern on this bond is the magnitude of that [cost] surplus is enormous because what the district has done in its cost estimates is it has inflated those significantly from what the same projects were just a year earlier.”

As an example, Sprigg pointed to Elementary School 35, a project included in the bond proposition. ES 35 would be constructed in northeast Round Rock with the goal of relieving Linda Herrington Elementary School.

RRISD estimates the total project will cost $48 million, an increase from the $32 million estimated project cost proposed in the voter-defeated May 2017 bond.

“By my estimate, the current projects are overstated by at least $100 million, perhaps as much as $150 million,” Sprigg said. “I believe they could execute every project on that list today for between $350 million and $400 million.”

Brian Sellers, leader of the pro-bond Round Rock Forward PAC, said the cost estimates are intentionally inflated by the district to account for anticipated project cost increases and unforeseen circumstances. Remaining funds, Sellers said, could be used by the district to pay off debts early.

“You cannot grow a school district without passing bonds,” Sellers said. “When a district is growing like Round Rock—they just surpassed 50,000 students—you have to keep up with that growth.”

Sellers said the proposed bond would address ongoing maintenance issues while preparing for anticipated continued growth in the district.

“We failed the previous bond in 2017 so it is imperative that we pass it this time around because there are so many needs,” Sellers said. “When you move something down the road it gets more expensive …Round Rock is a booming area so things like concrete and steel are being sought after right now and that increases the price of those goods. We need to spend less now instead of more later.”

Sellers, a former member of the RRISD board of trustees, said this is the sixth district bond he has helped in some capacity.

“There are people who say if we don’t [pass the bond] now, we can’t take care of the kids,” Sprigg said. “The work already done by the CBC can be used to go back and take what they have done, pull from that and determine the really critical needs then force the district to provide more reasonable cost estimates. I believe you could do that in time to call for a May bond election for a more moderate bond that really does support all critical needs.”

The board of trustees would need to call for a May 2019 bond election by February.

“We trust in the common sense of the voter,” Sprigg said. “We think if the voter gets the whole story then they’ll make a good decision.”

“The biggest thing people need to understand is that the number one asset for the city of Round Rock is the school district,” Sellers said. “That is what attracts people to Round Rock—they’re coming here to live and raise a family. It is important to keep the district up.”

Early voting ends Nov. 2 and election day is Nov. 6.