PISD addresses enrollment

"To build anything beyond Elementary School No. 20, we are going to need a bond to fund that construction," PISD Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Addix said.

The motive for new bonds is clear: New funding is needed to build schools, repair the existing ones and improve the facilities and technology of a district that is trying to keep up with an annual influx of hundreds of additional students.

"What we can do is look at what the demographers tell us the numbers are going to look like, and [demographers say the student population] is going to be consistently growing and moving east," PISD interim Superintendent Freddie McFarland said.

Calling the bond election

PISD leadership is still working out the details of which projects will be included in the bonds and what level of debt the district is willing and able to take on.

Former PISD Superintendent Charles Dupre began publicly floating the idea of a new bond package in April 2012.

"Now is [the right time]. The growth is going to force the board to call a bond election," said Elva Gladney, president of the PISD board of trustees.

Finances in order

The next bond has been at the forefront of many of the district's recent financial moves.

In August 2012, the board of trustees approved a 6 cent property tax increase to pay off existing debt. The district has also taken advantage of low interest rates by refinancing several of its existing loans. In total, in fiscal year 2013, the district was able to decrease the debt it was carrying by more than $41 million.

District officials have been hesitant to speak on the exact costs and projects they will be looking to fund through the next bond package. A preliminary Capital Improvements Plan submitted by district staff to the board in February, however, indicates a wish list of projects that could surpass $280 million.

Included in the list of capital expenditures for the proposed 2014 bond are: about $132 million for facility expenditures including safety and building improvements, $119 million for two new elementary schools and a high school, almost

$19 million for technology purchases and $10 million for new land.

Before the final bond proposal is brought before voters, the district will hold internal discussions regarding what projects should be included and reconvene its citizens bond committee for its recommendation. The final approval of what projects to include in the bond election will come from the board of trustees. The bond, however, won't immediately affect residents' taxes because the district has reached the maximum allowable rates.

"What is going to be in that bond? We are going to be working on that the rest of the summer and into the fall," Gladney said.

Build or redistrict?

Not everyone, however, believes new construction is the catchall solution for dealing with student population growth. Within two years, the district expects two of its three high schools—Hendrickson and Pflugerville—to exceed their student capacities, with the third—Connally—reaching capacity in 2021.

However, while there is little doubt several of the district's elementary schools in the northeast will be pushed well past their capacities in the coming years, many of those in the central and southwest sections of the district are expected to see stagnant or even decreasing enrollment.

"I don't disagree that we will need a fourth high school at some point. My only major concern is including all of those funds for elementary schools," said Melody Ryan, a member of the district's citizen bond committee and parent of a PISD first-grader.

One alternative to new construction could be redrawing the district's attendance zones. In 2012, PISD undertook the redrawing of its middle school boundaries in anticipation of the opening of Cele Middle School. The redistricting shifted about 800 students into new schools and divided some neighborhoods into separate attendance zones.

"You have to cross that bridge when you get there because you don't know exactly where the growth is going to be and if other areas are going to be left with facilities that are being underutilized," McFarland said.

Ryan, however, believes PISD should consider a mass elementary redistricting when it opens its 20th elementary school in 2014.

"If you are already going to redistrict a few [schools], you might as well fix all of the problems," she said. "I think if they do that, it will greatly reduce the need for more elementary schools."