The board of trustees did one of its final read-throughs of the projects in each proposition during a special bond development meeting Jan. 15.
The board must call for the bond by Feb. 14 in order to have a May election.
Some context
The Facilities and Bond Oversight Committee presented its first bond package recommendations in November.
Some projects have changed since the board received its first round of feedback in December, but the package remains the largest in HCISD history.
Chief Operations Officer Max Cleaver previously said the district's bond capacity, or ability to generate enough property tax collections to pay off bond debt, is between $800 million to $1.3 billion.
Proposition A, $469.5 million
Proposition A focuses on general growth, safety and the rehabilitation of facilities. It is the largest proposition and includes 23 projects, including $1.5 million for bond support and $1 million for general districtwide maintenance and repairs.
Other projects include:
- A total of 267.2 million for renovations at Fuentes, Hemphill, Kyle and Tom Green elementary schools, McCormick and Simon middle schools, and Hays, Johnson and Lehman high schools
- $78.7 million for elementary No. 18 construction
- $54 million for land for future school sites
- A total of $10.6 million for elementary No. 19 and middle school No. 7 design fees
- $7 million for 32 new buses
- $5.8 million for safety and security
- $2.8 million for Career and Technology Education, or CTE, improvements
Proposition B focuses on the base model of high school No. 4, which would aim to open in the 2029-30 school year.
Construction of the main building, which provides for an initial student capacity of 2,250, would cost $255.3 million.
Other costs within the proposition include $61.1 million for construction site work and $56 million for furniture fixtures and equipment, construction support and a contingency fund.
Proposition C, $51.9 million
Proposition C's projects would expand the capacity of high school No. 4 to 2,800 students.
Projects include construction of an auditorium; space for auto tech, construction trades and Junior ROTC; finishing the third and fourth CTE floors; and an additional weight room, parking lot and tennis courts.
Following trustee discussion, propositions B and C could be combined into one proposition.
Proposition D, $75.8 million
Proposition D focuses on fine arts and athletics. The projects and costs in this proposition are subject to change, as trustee Byron Severance suggested moving all projects except for the Multi-Purpose Activity Centers, or MPACs, to Proposition A.
The $50.5 million MPACs consist of four outdoor covered and lighted facilities for athletics and fine arts students at the three current high schools and future fourth high school.
"I look at this tied with the other items, and it scares me that this prop could potentially fail because we're not communicating the great need of these pavilions and really what they cover and how they are going to help our students," trustee Courtney Runkle said.
The other projects currently listed on the proposition include:
- A total of $16.6 million for McCormick, Simon and Wallace middle school athletic improvements
- $6.7 million for turf at Barton, Chapa and Dahlstrom middle schools
- $1 million for athletic uniform replacements
- $1 million for fine art replacements
Proposition E focuses on technology projects and includes network switches, phone system and public announcement sound system replacements, new laptops, photocopiers and printshop machines, and uninterruptible power supplies across the district.
Quote of note
"Some of these costs will decrease," trustee Esperanza Orosco said. "We're looking at this [as] an estimated cost, [and] we're not going to go beyond this, because that's going to be on our election order. However, it can decrease, and I'm hoping that with our wonderful construction and architects, that they will figure it out and get it lower for us."
Get involved
The next bond public forum opportunity will be held at the board's regular meeting Jan. 23. Community members can also still submit feedback online through Bond Talk.
