How we got here
The district's facility planning committee made the recommendation of the $527 million bond package to the school board. The package includes a new high school, two new elementary schools and a natatorium.
Erich Morris, MISD’s assistant superintendent of operations, who presented the information at the Aug. 6 meeting, said the district’s limit for a bond package price without having to increase the tax rate is $650 million.
What you need to know
The MISD school board will consider the following propositions recommended by the district’s bond committee:
Proposition A: Estimated total cost: $479.67 million
- High school No. 3 ($295.29 million)
- Elementary No. 10 ($50.44 million)
- Elementary No. 11 ($53.97 million)
- Safety and security ($8 million)
- Land acquisition ($15 million)
- Buses ($12.53 million)
- Priority one—facility upgrades to mechanical, plumbing, electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and roofing that are needed between now and two years out ($24.21 million)
- Priority two—facility upgrades that are needed within a timespan of three to five years ($20.22 million)
- Multipurpose facilities at all three high schools to be used for athletics, band, cheer, ROTC and other instructional purposes ($12.10 million)
- Baseball and softball turf at both existing high schools ($8.25 million)
- Baseball and softball seating at both existing high schools ($1.82 million)
- Tennis lighting at both existing high schools ($780,334)
- Second district natatorium on the west side of the district
What they’re saying
- “With [Proposition B], all of the seating and the turf and all those upgrades that go to those campuses, that's for equity. That's saying that the new facility would not be better than the old facilities,” Morris said. “This is to keep up and also catch up with every other district that we play against.”
- “We're the only ones with dirt in baseball and softball, and it's not a bad thing necessarily, but it's a maintenance issue,” board member David McCarty said about adding new turf to baseball and softball fields.
- “There's a lot of moving parts to this and a lot of things that I think you guys need to be able to give input on and also be able to feel comfortable with either one way or the other, and so let us just kind of take the input and regroup,” MISD superintendent Jason Bullock said.
The MISD school board did not approve anything at the Aug. 6 meeting; however, a regular board meeting will be held Aug. 11. Morris said the deadline to call a bond is Aug. 19 in order for it to show up on the November ballot.
