A large portion of the potential bond, which could be on the ballot in May 2025, is allocated toward rebuilding aging campuses and land acquisition. Some board members, however, were skeptical of certain aspects of the proposal.
What you need to know
The $214 million bond as proposed by the board at its Dec. 9 workshop would include the following projects:
- Rebuilding Seabrook Intermediate, which was built in 1967
- Rebuilding Armand Bayou Elementary, which was built in 1974
- Rebuilding Greene Elementary, which was built in 1976
- Acquiring land on the west side of the district for a potential intermediate school
- Bus replacements
- Secondary school restroom safety
- Reimbursement resolution for the Clear Lake High School culinary arts program expansion
CCISD’s Chief Financial Officer Alice Benzaia said the tax rate increase, which would possibly result from the bond if eventually approved, stems from a slow down in property value growth in the district.
However, she clarified if property value growth exceeds the expected 3.5% annually over the next five years, the district may not need the full $0.042 added onto its tax rate, Benzaia said.
“Our budget’s forecast over the next few years in our debt service fund, we’re actually eating into our fund balance in there to cover our principal and interest on our current bond,” Benzaia said at the workshop. “I don’t think that we’re going to keep seeing the property value growth that we’ve seen over the past several years.”
How we got here
In June 2023, CCISD’s facility advisory committee recommended a number of projects throughout the district, resulting in the board eventually calling for the $302 million bond, which passed in November 2023, district documents show.
Before the $302 million bond was called, trustees originally looked at a $614 million bond, among other options, that was recommended by the committee. About half of that total package went up for a vote in November 2023, with the rest being put off until a possible 2024 or 2025 election, as previously reported by Community Impact.
As a result, other projects were deferred to future bonds, according to district documents.
Also of note
Officials also recommended a potential $493 million bond in 2028, which would consist of the following projects:
- Rebuilding Clear Creek Intermediate School
- Rebuilding Clear Lake Intermediate School
- Funding Vision 2030
- Infrastructure and priority repairs
- Technology
Board member Scott Bowen said he believes the district isn’t ready to rebuild Seabrook Intermediate School.
“[Rebuilding] an intermediate school nearly doubles the cost of the bond, and also the tax rate impact is much higher,” Bowen said at the workshop. “I don’t want us to pursue something like that if ... we haven’t gotten to the point where we’re comfortable that we know where our needs are yet, and I just don’t quite think we’re there.”
Board vice president Jonathan Cottrell said he believes rebuilding Seabrook Intermediate is ideal, especially since the school offers a life science program.
“It makes sense to rebuild that one first,” Cottrell said at the workshop. “It has a program, it already has a path forward that we’re not trying to figure out, and it is the oldest of them. I do think there’s some unique things about Seabrook [Intermediate] that we can create more opportunities for more students. That life science program wasn’t there 50 years ago.”
Board president Arturo Sanchez said he was concerned waiting would cause the project costs to rise.
“If a comfort level doesn’t feel right this time because of the cost of an intermediate school, the comfort level doesn’t get better the further we go out,” Sanchez said.
Bowen also said potentially adding a future intermediate school on the west side of the district could be a risk since enrollment isn’t projected to grow, according to a demographic report. He noted current intermediate enrollment is over 9,100 students and is projected to drop to over 8,100 students over 10 years.
Despite the decrease, Paul Miller, CCISD’s assistant superintendent of support services, said there are currently 9,000 lots in the western portion of the district that are projected to be developed, which could bring enrollment up.
Miller recommended acquiring the land to have it just in case and disposing of it if not needed later on.
“Obviously we’re not going to build a school if it doesn’t dictate that we build that school, but we would then have to dispose of that property once we determine it to be surplus,” Miller said at the workshop.
Cottrell said it would be best to acquire land at a sooner time rather than later.
“Nearly half of [League City] is on that side of town to develop, so it would make sense from a real estate perspective to buy it now rather than wait 10 years,” Cottrell said at the workshop.
Looking ahead
The last day the board can call for a potential bond ahead of the May 2025 is Feb. 14, Benzaia said.
Officials plan to consider the potential bond at the board’s January board meeting, which will be held Jan. 27, according to district documents.
Further discussion will be held with the board and district officials, and the cost of the potential bond package is subject to change.
