PISD sets largest bond package in history

"Like most Central Texas school districts, we are working to keep up with the growth that is happening here."

Despite the large amount of bond debt the district is seeking to add to its portfolio, officials say there will be no increase in property tax rates as a result. Texas school districts divide property taxes into two portions: one part to fund maintenance and operations, and another to pay off debt accumulated through bonds. In 2012, the PISD board of trustees increased the district's tax rate for debt payments to 50 cents per $100 of property valuation—the maximum allowed under state law.

In effect, by increasing the tax rate two years ago, the district has been able to clear enough debt off its books to add new bonds in 2014. According to PISD Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Addix, as of the beginning of the 2013–14 school year, the district's debt capacity stood at more than $306 million—leaving PISD with more than enough room to cover the proposed bonds.

The process

Prior to the start of the 2013–14 school year, the process of requesting a new bond package had been limited to informal discussions. Then in September the district contracted with Huckabee—a Texas-based architecture, engineering and management firm—to provide a cost estimate for improvements and new construction.

"It was a true physical assessment of every structure and building in this district," PISD Deputy Superintendent Troy Galow said. "[Huckabee] brought those results to the board in December, and that data became the driver for moving forward."

The price tag for all of the district's needs, according to Huckabee's review, however, totaled more than $482 million. In the wake of the Huckabee report, the district administration formed a Citizens Facility Advisory Committee and tasked its members with analyzing the data and forming a recommendation to present the board of trustees.

From late December through the end of January, the committee—composed of 17 community members and 11 district staff members—met on a weekly basis, and on Feb. 6 the board was presented a bond recommendation totaling more than $298 million. The board asked the district's administration to cut the total package by another 3–4 percent, eventually settling on the final $287 million proposal.

Pflugerville Assistant City Manager Trey Fletcher is a father of two district students and served as a volunteer on the committee. Fletcher said the proposed bonds are a reaction to the district's growth patterns.

"If you look over the last several years [PISD] has focused more on [building] elementary and middle schools," he said. "Those kids have matriculated up through [those] schools, and that population pressure is going to start hitting the high schools—that is what they are expanding."

Torrez said a new high school will be the district's first priority if the bonds pass and that he hopes to have it open by the beginning of the 2016–17 school year. He said the school will be located east of SH 130 in order to relieve overcrowding at Hendrickson High School, which is expected to exceed its designed capacity next year.

Wants versus needs

While support among the committee for funding a new high school was reportedly unanimous, other big-ticket items on the list received a more tepid response.

Pflugerville resident and committee member W.C. Kolinek said including the regional football stadium in the proposal could threaten the more important components, such as new schools.

"If you go for the whole enchilada, you are liable to end up with a burnt tortilla," he said. "Pflugerville [ISD's] problem is they are maxing out their credit card. I don't have any problem with the needs—it is the wants I have a problem with."

PISD officials, however, have said the district's existing stadiums are too small. Ranging in size from 4,794 to 5,071 seats, the district estimates it would cost $40.2 million to build three of its stadiums up to 6,500-seat capacities. In comparison, the district estimates it could build a new, 10,000-seat regional stadium and repair its existing facilities for approximately $43.5 million.

Prior to calling the election, there was discussion among board members about splitting up the bond package into separate propositions. In the end, however, the board decided all of the items on the list deserved equal support.

"My first reaction when I heard about the stadium was that we should separate the bond proposals," trustee Carol Fletcher said. "But I think the message that sends is that the stadium is a want, not a need. I want everyone in the district to know that everything on the list is an absolute necessity."