Montgomery ISD trustees call $326.9M bond election for seventh elementary school, high school expansion

Montgomery ISD trustees unanimously voted Feb. 15. to call a May 7 bond election totaling $326.9 million, which includes funds for a seventh elementary school, an expansion of Lake Creek High School, renovations to the MISD Athletic Complex, and construction of centralized agricultural science and career and technical education centers. The bond election is broken into three propositions.

A recommendation for projects to consider in a bond referendum was presented to the board Jan. 26 by the district's bond task force, comprised of community members, district officials and other stakeholders.

“This bond would address the rapid growth we are experiencing throughout our district and expand our ability to meet the growing educational needs of all students, especially in the area of career and technical education,” Superintendent Heath Morrison said in a Feb. 15 release from the district. “I am incredibly grateful to our board of trustees for acknowledging the outstanding work of our Community Bond Task Force. This was an authentic process driven by voices from across the entire Montgomery community.”

Proposition A totals $312.98 million and includes the bulk of proposed improvements—addressing growth, comparability of campuses, facility upgrades, land purchases and buses—Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Kris Lynn said during the meeting. Proposition A includes a seventh elementary school to relieve Keenan and Stewart Creek elementary schools; a 900-student expansion at Lake Creek High School; planning and design for a third junior high school; facility upgrades at all MISD campuses; and the addition of centralized CTE and agriculture science facilities, according to district information.

Proposition B totals $8.51 million for renovations to MISD's Athletic Complex, including adding seating and other upgrades, according to district information. Lastly, Proposition C totals $5.4 million for technological devices, Lynn said.

"That was something that this task force took very seriously in making sure that every district facility is touched in one way or another, and not only buildings, but we're going to be touching athletics, fine arts, all kinds of programs across this district, so every student in Montgomery ISD, ... every facility will be touched by this bond," Lynn said during the meeting.

Registered voters in MISD will be able to vote for each proposition individually on the May 7 ballot, Lynn said.

If voters approve all three propositions May 7, the estimated impact to the property tax rate is less than $0.01, Lynn said. According to a Feb. 15 release, the current tax rate in MISD is $1.26 per $100 valuation, and the proposed bond would increase that to $1.267 per $100 valuation once all bonds have been sold, which Lynn said would take two to four years as projects get underway.

For the average house worth $350,000 in MISD, this equals less than $2 more a month once all bonds are sold, Lynn said, pending no change to the state's homestead exemption or growth in the district's property tax base from further residential and commercial development.

"I do think this is very well planned, very well thought out. As much as I don't want to support a tax, a bond, I think it's the right thing to do," Trustee Gary Hammons said during the meeting.

Early voting begins April 25 for the May 7 election, according to the Texas Secretary of State's office.