Some funds from the Austin ISD bond propositions on the May 11 ballot would funnel into Southwest Austin schools if the bond passes, and local residents are seeking more information on the bond from AISD representatives as election day approaches.

The South Austin Civic Club invited Albert Hawkins, co-chair of the committee that developed the propositions, to speak about the $892 million bond at its April 9 meeting. On April 8, Gina Hinojosa, AISD school board vice president, spoke at a meeting of the Circle C Area Democrats.

AISD school board trustee Robert Schneider, who represents Southwest Austin, spoke about the bond April 4 with members of the Oak Hill Business and Professional Association, OHBPA President John Rosshirt said.

"Bond elections are very important, and [AISD] needs our input and our understanding of what we're trying to accomplish with those dollars," Rosshirt said, adding: "We're a business group, and businesses' whole communities are going to follow the reputation of schools. We have to maintain good schools in our area so that people will continue to move out here."

Bond projects affecting Southwest Austin

The AISD bond is divided into four propositions that Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said would provide relief in categories including technology, building infrastructure, academic initiatives, fine arts, athletics and relief from overcrowding.

There are hundreds of individual line items in the bond. Some changes would be districtwide—nearly all Southwest Austin schools receiving bond funding would replace intrusion alarm systems and install technology upgrades, for example—but others are school-specific. The AISD bond website includes an interactive map detailing what each school would receive.

The largest bond expenditure is proposition 3, with more than $311 million allocated toward districtwide facility systemic repairs. These upgrades range from replacing HVAC systems to installing safety cables on retractable basketball goals and completing basic renovations.

Some of the buildings receiving the most repairs are in Southwest Austin, including Bowie High School, Crockett High School, Fulmore Middle School, Oak Hill Elementary School, and the Toney Burger Athletic Complex in Sunset Valley.

"It's hard to talk about it in terms of 'this is going to increase math achievement' or other things families care about...but it is what I would say falls more into the category of a value system around the health and safety of staff and students," Carstarphen said, adding AISD has to stay on top of issues like mold prevention and replacing deteriorating materials.

To support the district's goal of transitioning to "arts-rich" status, proposition 4 includes more than $25 million for dance floor improvements and fine arts facilities expansions across the district. At public hearings about the bond, students and staff from McCallum High School in Central Austin told board members that dancing on concrete gym floors is unsafe, and space is so limited on campus that dance teams practice in the same room as football players, separated only by a curtain.

"We have some schools where we have the 'gymacafatoriums,'" Carstarphen said. "You have football, dance and theater all happening in the same space, and in really large schools like Bowie or a concentrated program like McCallum, it just doesn't work."

Bowie, Akins and Crockett High Schools and Bailey Middle School are among the schools that would receive dance floor improvements if the bond passes.

To address overcrowding, new schools are planned, with more than $92 million allocated toward establishing three new elementary schools with undesignated locations.

When the district has maximized the permanent capacity of a school, there are challenges, Carstarphen said.

"In the case of areas like South Austin because of impervious cover, you start getting very limited in your options on what you can do and how much you can build," she said.

Another $8 million would fund a feasibility and design study for a new high school in South Austin.

South High School plans

The district has held public meetings to gain community feedback on academic plans for the new South High School, said Paul Turner, executive director of AISD's Office of Facilities.

"Right now we're still in that phase where we're trying to define the academic program, and should that become a school that's going to draw from a lot of different places, you would probably want to locate it in a more central location than if you're trying to deal with overcrowding in a particular part," he said.

If the bond passes, the district needs to make its decision about that programming before it spends bond money on the design and feasibility study and determines a location, Carstarphen said.

"Academics leads what we do with all these other plans, whether it's facilities plans, technology plans, or budget plans. Everything follows that," Carstarphen said. "Different schools and different models require different things, especially when you get to the high school level. And so a big comprehensive high school is one thing. If we decided [on a south high school design that is] sort of like Akins, if we did something that was more academy-focused, it might be something else."

The next meeting on the South High School is scheduled for April 11 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Austin High School, 1715 W. Cesar Chavez St. The South High School committee hopes to have made progress on a decision about academic programming by June, Carstarphen said.

The district plans to hold a community meeting on the 2014 Budget and 2013 bond at Bowie High School, 4103 Slaughter Lane, on April 17 at 6 p.m.