At Monday's Austin ISD board of trustees meeting, members of the committee responsible for the recent Facility Master Plan update appeared before the board to give another update on their progress in planning for a potential 2017 bond election. If called by the trustees on June 19, the election will take place this November.

Facility improvement projects included in the potential bond package seek to address the most critical facility needs in the district. The advisory committee continues to operate by its motto of "the worst first" in prioritizing improvement projects, committee member Roxanne Evans said this evening.

Here are five takeaways from tonight's presentation:

1. Public meetings designed to allow community members the opportunity to provide input on bond planning were held last week, Evans said. More than 100 people turned out for these sessions, she said, and the committee gathered hundreds of pieces of feedback to consider in finalizing the bond package. Recommendations for the public included improved outreach to non-parents, the business community, Spanish speakers, and residents in areas where low voter turnout exists. Community members also recommended the use of the Nextdoor app, as well as LISTSERVs, to expand their reach to members of the public who might be unaware of engagement opportunities.

2. There has been talk among trustees of extending the June 19 voting deadline to give the committee more time to refine the bond package and engage with the community. Committee member CherylAnn Campbell advised the board to wait no longer that June 26 to call for a bond election, stating, "The sooner we can take our work to the next level the better the chance for a successful bond."

3. Trustee Ann Teich said that while the decisions in front of them are difficult, the committee should be "realistic" when forming the bond package and consider the advantages of consolidating two or three schools so a new school better suited to 21st-century learning.

4. To ensure equitable bond planning in the future, Evans said a few committee members are working to create a white paper to outline lessons learned about equity as they relate to facilities and other resource issues. "We have been looking at thing such as regional equity, equity in terms of programs and history, and discussions on how to avoid repeating mistakes of the past," she said.

5. The committee will meet twice more before the board's scheduled vote June 19 to finalize bond package projects. The first meeting will be held Wednesday at Austin High School in Central Austin, followed by a meeting June 2 at Menchaca Elementary School in Southwest Austin.