If approved by the board of trustees in the coming weeks, this would leave $15.7 million in contingency reserve to support unforeseen needs from the district’s ongoing $1.26 billion May 2023 bond program, officials said at the May 5 agenda review meeting.
However, district officials estimate $512 million is needed to address deferred maintenance needs. Several trustees voiced concerns at the meeting about the low contingency funds, urging administrators to monitor cost estimates and bids amid economic and weather uncertainty so money doesn’t have to come from the general fund.
“I don't think since I've been on the board we've ever had that few funds available for the major maintenance that always comes up,” board President Kristin Tassin said.
The details
Deputy Superintendent of Operations Kathleen Brown said $22.4 million of the bond contingency can be used for:
- $400,000 for a Facilities Condition Index Audit, which will guide long-term facility planning, particularly as the district contemplates boundary adjustments and campus consolidations
- $12 million to repair Madden Elementary School’s foundation slab, adding to $9 million already allocated through the 2023 bond
- $8.2 million for the Special Education Transportation Center for Excellence, which was deferred following reports of a shortfall in October; it would support the district’s growing special education population by consolidating transportation planning and operations in one location
- $1.8 million for maintenance work at Heritage Rose, Brazos Bend and Goodman elementaries as well as Dulles High School
“Those major maintenance repairs, they're not going to stop coming,” Brown said. “We anticipate that they will continue to come, and we'll need funds available to take care of those items as they occur.”
What trustees are saying
Trustee Angie Hanan said she supported prioritizing the $512 million worth of deferred maintenance projects. However, she said she was concerned about the shrinking contingency reserve, pointing to the “depletion” of the 2014 and 2018 bond contingency funds in the past four years.
“I just want to make certain that ... we feel like [$15.7 million is] enough in the case of unexpected bad weather events or unexpected increases in supplies to complete the rest of the [2023 bond] projects,” Hanan said. “That feels like that's not a lot, and so that worries me as a board member.”
Tassin also asked district administrators for assurance that all proposed projects, especially the $21 million Madden Elementary overhaul, would be subject to final board approval with cost-certainty safeguards, including “not-to-exceed” limits on major projects.
Another thing
Brown acknowledged the omission of Elementary School No. 55 in the contingency use recommendation, saying the school remains on the district’s radar, but even a smaller-scale $38.1 million build would not be plausible.
“It's not a ‘no,’ it's a ‘not yet’ that we're ... recommending,” Brown said, noting data from the facilities assessment would help determine the district's needs for the long-range boundary planning process.
Other unfunded items include athletic renovations, additional turf replacements, fine arts facility improvements and a third transportation center—all of which remain on the district’s list of “identified needs,” pending future funding opportunities, Brown said.
Looking ahead
Chief Financial Officer Bryan Guinn said the board is expected to vote on each of the four recommended items individually in upcoming meetings, where cost estimates will be presented for approval.
