District officials provided the board of trustees with updated bond project recommendation information Dec. 16, ahead of more bond discussions in January.
The details
The FBOC first presented its bond package recommendations to the board of trustees in November. Some of the projects listed on the $885.2 million recommendation so far include:
- $424.9 million for a fourth high school to open in 2029, as well as $5 million for its stadium construction
- $140.6 million for the modernization and expansion of Fuentes, Hemphill, Kyle and Tom Green elementary schools
- $78.7 million for an 18th elementary school to open in 2027
- $51.3 million for various improvements at Hays and Johnson high schools
- $45.3 million for upgrades and the expansion of Simon and Wallace middle schools
- $7 million for the purchase of 24 school buses for growth and eight activity buses
- $6 million for initial design fees of a seventh middle school
Chief Operations Officer Max Cleaver said district officials have started to receive bond recommendation feedback from the public, FBOC members and district cabinet.
Some additional projects that could be considered for the package, he said, include design fees for elementary No. 19, a project for Lehman High School, eight portable classrooms at McCormick Middle School to address overcapacity, and artificial turf and track at Barton, Chapa and Dahlstrom middle schools.
These campuses do not have any projects in the current recommendation with the exception of McCormick which has $14.4 million listed for turf, weight room and locker rooms.
Chief Communication Officer Tim Savoy also said the board will have to bundle the bond into different propositions, so while the current recommendation is currently upward of $900 million, not all of the propositions may pass—and some projects may be cut or reduced in cost.
"Voters will have choice," Savoy said. "... When you add and put items and you come with a final number, it doesn't necessarily mean that final number will be the number of the bond after the voters speak. Bundled in propositions, you can put different things, and then the voters still get to say how much they each decide they want to authorize if any at all. It's not an all or none."
Get involved
Public forums will be held at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 15 and Jan. 23 at the Academic Support Center, where further bond package recommendations will be provided and discussed.
Community members can also submit feedback on the Bond Talk website here.
The board will be required to call for a bond by Feb. 14 for a May election.
