The back story: SISD's $850 million bond package was approved by voters during the Nov. 8 election. In May, the district successfully sold its first round of bonds for a total of $300 million.
What's next: On April 11, district leaders announced an estimated timeline for bond projects:
- In May and June, the district plans to advertise requests for proposals for bond project architecture and construction services.
- In August, the district hopes to approve architect and construction proposals so the design process can begin in September.
- In November, schematics will be presented for the $141 million Education Performance and Instructional Center and the Spring High School redesign.
- Proposition A will allocate $681 million to fund campus improvements, including rebuilding Spring High School and renovating Westfield High School, and Reynolds and Jenkins elementary schools.
- Proposition B will slate $141 million for the Education Performance and Instructional Center, which will be used for district events, such as graduation and convocation; academic, athletic and performing arts events; University Interscholastic League competitions; and expos.
- Proposition C will fund $28 million in districtwide technology upgrades, such as replacing teacher laptops, adding laptop charging stations to classrooms, upgrading computer labs, enhancing districtwide cybersecurity and updating the district’s telephone system.
Two-minute impact: At the board of trustees' April 6 meeting, SISD Chief Financial Officer Ann Westbrooks provided updates on the district's preliminary 2023-24 budget:
- The district will need to find $15 million in budget cuts by the board’s May meeting.
- An estimated maintenance and operations tax rate of $0.8136 and an expected property value growth of 8% is being used to create a preliminary budget.
- The district is expecting a student enrollment of 34,265 in the 2023-24 school year, which is a slight increase from 34,175 students in the 2022-23 school year.
