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Equity was a topic of discussion during the Austin ISD board of trustees Feb. 11 work session, which centered around the proposed scope of work for a potential May 2013 bond.

One of the projects not included in the proposed bond as of Feb. 11 was a new dance floor at McCallum High School. Trustee Ann Teich said that at recent public hearings concerning the bond, several teachers, parents and dance students from the school spoke up about the risk of injury associated with practicing dance routines on concrete floors like the ones at McCallum.

A fix for the campus could be included in the 2013 bond, but as trustee Lori Moya stated, the issue presents a question of equity.

"We have dancers all over the district, and they should have the same floors to protect them against injury as any other student," Moya said, noting if safer dance floors are added at McCallum, they should be added to all schools.

Similarly, trustee Robert Schneider pointed out that there are line items and facility needs that are being addressed at some schools, but not others, in the current $898 million bond proposal. He pointed to a softball dugout at Anderson High School that would cost more than $200,000 and is included in the bond proposal, then presented a photograph of the existing dugout at Lyndon B. Johnson Early College High School, which he said was burned by arsonists years ago and remains damaged.

"I'm still struggling to understand how we identify specific schools and specific programs, but we've got situations [like these]," he said.

The district's Citizens' Bond Advisory Committee, the group that developed the bond package, received individual campus plans from schools in the district and reviewed them all based on factors such as need to determine what proposals ended up in the bond.

The CBAC will take the board's feedback and use it to put the finishing touches on its proposal during the coming weeks, as the board is scheduled to vote on whether to call for a bond election at its Feb. 25 meeting.

Financial effects

Board President Vincent Torres noted career and technical education (CTE) has been "picking up steam" during the legislative session and said the bond should be sure to include sufficient funding to accommodate future CTE growth, especially considering the bond's timing.

"If this bond were to go forward it's going to be a long time before we have another bond," he said.

AISD's current tax rate is $1.24 per $100 of property value, according to the CBAC. To fund the bond, AISD would need a 3.5 cent increase to its interest and sinking (I&S) budget that would be implemented in fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2016.

If the 3.5 cent tax increase is approved for the proposed 2013 Bond Program, Austin residents' property tax bills would increase by about $70 per year, or $5.83 per month, for a typical $200,000 home, according to the district. The impact to Austin businesses' property taxes would be approximately $35.00 per $100,000 of taxable value.

The CBAC met with members of the community in January to get their feedback on the bond program. Since the preliminary bond package was proposed Jan. 14, the CBAC has made a few additions, including a multipurpose gymnasium at Govalle Elementary School.

What's in the current bond package

As of the work session Feb. 11, the bond package includes projects in four groups:

Group 1

Health, environment, equipment, and technology: approximately $131 million

• Campus improvements for food services
• Maintenance, facilities and equipment
• Transportation (districtwide)
• Technology (districtwide)
• Classroom/science labs fixtures and equipment
• Energy conservation (districtwide)

Group 2

Safety and security as well as relief from overcrowded schools, new schools and new construction: approximately $266 million

• Safety and security (districtwide)
• Classroom additions based on demographics for Blazier Elementary School, Cook Elementary School, Doss Elementary School, Perez Elementary School, Pillow Elementary School, Burnet Middle School and Murchison Middle School
• Four new elementary schools located based on student population growth
• Land acquisition
• Functional equity additions
• Individual campus plan addition requests
• Fine arts special addition at Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders
• Athletics addition at Anderson High School
• Multipurpose/gymnasium addition at Govalle Elementary School
• New south high school (feasibility and design)

Group 3

Academic and building infrastructure renovations to safeguard Investments in district campuses: approximately $349 million

• Facility systemic repairs
• Individual campus plan renovations
• Campus library improvements

Group 4

Support for academic initiatives, fine arts and athletics: approximately $150 million

• CTE facility improvement
• Fine arts facility improvements
• Physical education and athletics facility improvements
• Special education facility improvements
• School for young men facility renovations

Schneider also asked the CBAC to develop a draft of a restructured bond package with six propositions instead of four for the board's consideration.

More information is available at www.austinisd.org.