The 2017 bond netted the district a new school, and a few others were either rebuilt completely or renovated substantially. Meanwhile, despite projects from the bond taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic amid economic challenges, documents show the bond came in under budget by roughly $38 million and on time.
However, the bond was not without its doubters or detractors, as some residents within the district, such as CCISD resident Phil Ratisseau, felt many of the projects were more costly than necessary.
“The district’s standards are higher than others,” Ratisseau said. “They build Taj Mahals, not just education facilities.”
The overview
Roughly 50 projects later that totaled almost $450 million in cost, CCISD has completed all projects funded by its 2017 bond. Through the pandemic, inflation and a hurricane, officials are touting the work as a success.
“I think the 2017 bond was timing,” Director of Facility Services Alex Aragon said. “And we hit the timing right.”
That timing included not only the pandemic, but Hurricane Harvey too, which happened in August 2017—three months after the bond was passed, said Paul Miller, assistant superintendent of support services.
They were rewarded early on with under-budget projects, as inflation from 2017-20 remained fairly low, Miller said. From 2017-20, inflation was 6% across the U.S., according to the inflation calculator at Bureau of Labor Statistics' website. That spiked to 16% from 2020-23.
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As inflation grew in the next few years, however, the district offset those costs with savings from earlier projects, such as the League City Elementary renovations, Miller said.
Students being out of the physical schools during the pandemic also allowed officials to push through projects quicker, such as the list of roof projects, which also saved money.
“When COVID hit ... [we] thought this might be the time to roll the dice and go,” Aragon said.
Zooming out
Using bonds as the main method of facility maintenance can cause issues, said Bob Popinski, senior director of policy for education nonprofit Raise Your Hand Texas.
Popinski said he believes the system in general is strong in that it’s all local debt, but the state’s lack of funding for facility construction and maintenance leaves school districts picking up the tab.
Of the roughly 138 bond propositions for schools districts that appeared on the ballot in November 2023, about $3 billion of $18 billion asked for was rejected, according to the Texas Bond Review Board. Officials at the board note that neither the list or total are an official one, and may not be comprehensive.
Debt assistance or facilities surveys could be ways for the state to help, he said.
“As far as what the state offsets, it really ain’t that much,” Popinski said.
Those opposed
The 2017 bond, which passed with 63.59% of the vote, in its lead-up was met with opposition from those who felt too much money was being asked for. Ratisseau counted himself among that opposition, saying while he supported a bond, he felt it should have been half of what it was. Ratisseau said he feels spending money on facilities at this rate isn’t the best course of action, particularly when the district was seeing declining enrollment. CCISD has declined in enrollment in each of the last three school years.
“The district is not a growing district. It’s actually shrunk, and [officials] are wanting to spend all this money on schools, new schools, rebuilding schools," Ratisseau said. "The bottom line is, why are you putting taxpayers in more debt when the district is shrinking?”
Stay tuned
CCISD officials rolled over more than $30 million in savings from the 2017 bond to the $302 million bond approved Nov. 7.
Moving into 2024, officials have already started bidding out projects from the 2023 bond, with some expected to begin this year. Some of those projects could include:
- Chillers to regulate temperature in six schools
- Replacing aging fueling equipment for buses
- Replacing sound and intercom systems at a few schools
- Other priority repairs
