The HCISD board of trustees unanimously voted to approve the Facilities and Bond Oversight Committee to further consider a bond package recommendation during its Nov. 18 meeting.
FBOC chair Jessica Bedwell also provided a list of projects from the committee that could be considered before the list is finalized in the coming months.
A quick note
The board first officially discussed a 2025 bond at its Nov. 12 meeting.
Bedwell said the $900 million package takes into account the district’s bond capacity of $800 million to $1.3 billion as previously discussed, but also the fact that HCISD may continue to have bonds more frequently which creates a need to preserve this bond capacity.
The committee grouped possible projects into four categories—elementary school, middle school, high school and district projects—and then ranked projects within each category by committee priority, Bedwell said.
Diving in deeper
Some of the projects listed on the recommendation include:
- Design and construction fees for the 18th and 19th elementary schools, and design for the 20th
- The modernization and expansion of Kyle, Tom Green and Fuentes elementary schools
- Design fees for the seventh middle school
- The expansion of Simon, Barton, Chapa and Wallace middle schools
- Design and construction fees for the fourth high school
- Other high school improvements including various fine arts and athletic cycle replacements, Career and Technical Education improvements and academic expansions of Hays and Lehman high schools
Quote of note
“I think there’s always maybe some disappointment about, ‘Well, what about this other thing that I don’t see on there?’” Bedwell said. “Rest assured, it’s part of the longer term plan. ... It doesn’t mean that those things disappear, it just goes to a different place in that long-term strategy.”
What to expect
The board will be required to call for a bond by Feb. 14 for a May election. Public forums are expected to be held prior to this.
