After more than a year of planning, the Klein ISD board of trustees approved its $498.1 million bond recommendations Jan. 12 and called a bond election to be on the ballot May 9.
If approved by voters in May, the bond would raise the district's property tax rate by a maximum of 10 cents from 2017–21, Superintendent Jim Cain said. The 10-cent increase is estimated to cost the average homeowner in KISD $13 per month, Cain said.
"We were very sensitive to our taxpayers," Cain said. "Granted the tax rate has to go up 10 cents, but it goes up over a period of time. I think it's a reasonable rate. And I think senior citizens [should] know [it] doesn't impact them, because when you're 65 or older and you apply for a tax exemption, the amount you pay is frozen."
The largest piece of the bond package is $279.1 million in new construction projects, including High School No. 5, Intermediate School No. 10 and Elementary School No. 33.
Cain said some early site work will be done on High School No. 5 prior to voters getting a chance to decide on the bond election. However, the site work is necessary in order for the school to open in time for the 2017–18 school year. The site work will also allow the district to construct the school at a cheaper price.
"It's really an efficient and effective way to get started," Cain said.
In addition to the new construction, the bond includes $134 million in renovations and additions, $18 million in safety and security, $50 million in technology and about $7 million for buses.
"We were very sensitive to our taxpayers. Granted the tax rate has to go up 10 cents, but it goes up over a period of time. I think it's a reasonable rate. And I think senior citizens [should] know [it] doesn't impact them, because when you're 65 or older and you apply for a tax exemption, the amount you pay is frozen."
- Klein ISD Superintendent Jim Cain
Trustees spoke in favor of the bond at a board of trustees meeting Jan. 12. Trustee Stephen Szymczak said KISD is no longer a rural district, located in an area of significant growth. Szymczak said the bond authorization needs to be approved to accommodate the growth and praised the work done by KISD staff and the bond steering committee.
"A lot of people in this room put a lot of effort into rightsizing this to make sure we don't get too giddy with expenditures," he said.
Trustee Rick Mann said he had not attended any of the steering committee meetings because he wanted to see the bond authorization plan with fresh eyes.
"The amount of time and energy that your staff and the steering committee put into this is absolutely overwhelming," Mann said. "We have an obligation to our residents, and we have an obligation to our communities, and I think this bond will [meet that obligation]. I'm absolutely in favor of this because I see the quality of work in this."
Even if the bond authorization is approved by voters, Cain said the projects and costs within the bond package are not set in stone. The board has to approve each project before funding can be provided, and some variables of the projects are still unknown, he said.
"We refer to it as a bond blueprint because it is a working document," Cain said. "There are sometimes factors that you cannot control. You cannot control the state economy. You cannot control the national economy. You cannot control the people moving in and out of your schools."
For more information on the bond authorization and the district, visit www.kleinisd.net.
