Six districts to vote on upgrades, new schools
More than $2 billion in bonds are on the ballot for election
More than $2 billion in school bonds are up for vote across Greater Houston in early November, giving residents in six districts the option to authorize money for dozens of new campuses and hundreds of upgrades.
But district leaders worry that Hurricane Harvey will hamper their ability to leverage bonds as the property values that finance them will be significantly reduced by storm damage.
Bond proposals for Spring Branch, Katy, Lamar, Tomball, Pasadena and Stafford school districts were finalized before Harvey, and four of the six come with no tax rate increase. As a result, districts would likely have to find ways to raise additional revenue, scale back their bond spending, or hope property values rebound at greater-than-projected rates. A few districts said their bond packages were crafted
using conservative property value growth rates, potentially giving them some wiggle room even if values fall.
On Nov. 7, voters in the districts will be asked to approve bonds ranging from about $60 million to nearly $900 million. If they all pass, 26 schools would be built or completely renovated, and hundreds of campuses would get improvements. Here are details of the six proposals.
Spring Branch ISD: $898.4 million
Voters in Spring Branch will vote on a school bond for the first time since 2007 — and it’s a huge one. At nearly $900 million, Spring Branch’s school bond would be the sixth-largest in state history, according to the Texas Bond Review Board.
For a district ranked 36th in Texas in student population, it’s a big dollar total. But there’s a reason: Unlike many school districts that seek bonds every few years, Spring Branch ISD spread its requests over longer time periods. That tactic gives the district more control over when to issue bonds and complete projects, Spring Branch bond committee member Minda Caesar said.
“Having a 10-year time frame in which to do this gives us a ton of flexibility,” Caesar said.
Unlike many districts seeking bonds, Spring Branch isn’t experiencing fast population growth that forces construction of new campuses. Rather, many of its schools are more than 50 years old and need overhauls or major renovations, bond supporters said.
If approved, Spring Branch’s bond would pay to replace or significantly upgrade 15 of the district’s aging schools. The largest share of costs would go toward rebuilding nine elementary schools and one middle school, which average about 55 years in age. Four high schools and one elementary school would get new additions or significant renovations. The remaining schools would, at a minimum, get technology and interior upgrades.
Caesar said the flood damage and its impact on the bond “is absolutely a concern,” but the committee based its revenue projections on conservative estimates of property value growth.
“At this point, what we’re going for is the authorization of selling bonds. If we need to wait to sell them so we can rebuild our neighborhoods and that’s the right thing for our community, then that’s a decision that can be made,” Caesar said. “We have a board that’s very sensitive to those issues and the needs of our neighborhoods.”
Katy ISD: $609.2 million
Hard feelings still linger for some Katy residents after the cost of the district’s new 12,000-seat football stadium — financed by a 2014 bond — ballooned from $58 million to $72 million.
But supporters of the 2017 bond say this request will be different. There’s no stadium this year. A new school administration is engendering more confidence, and the biggest chunk of money — about $450 million, or nearly three-fourths of the bond — is earmarked for construction of six new campuses.
The buildings are necessary, bond supporters say, because Katy ISD remains one of the state’s fastest-growing districts, with enrollment increasing about 3 to 4 percent annually. The district’s “moderate growth scenario” shows enrollment rising from about 78,000 this year to 98,000 by 2026.
The package includes plans for a new high school near the southwest edge of the district to alleviate overcrowding. The two closest high schools — Seven Lakes, with 3,400 students, and Tompkins, with 2,950 students — are beyond their optimal operating capacities of 2,700.
“The hallways are crowded, lunch starts at 10 a.m. and goes until 1 p.m., and it just puts a strain on the facility when you’re having that many people in it at one time,” said Shani Matheson, a bond committee member. “Most importantly, there’s less opportunity for students to be a part of things. You can only have a certain amounts of kids in a band or orchestra, or on a theater stage, or cheering on a football field.”
Some bond critics, however, have concerns about the district’s debt load, its management of past bonds and the uncertainty surrounding property values. Flooding destroyed significant pockets of Katy, including large swaths of the Cinco Ranch neighborhood.
“The bottom line is we need to go back and see what this flood has done to this community first,” said A.D. Muller, a vocal opponent of the bond.
Lamar CISD: $445.4 million
Another fast-growing district, Lamar CISD, is also seeking its second bond in four years.
Voters who approved a $240 million bond in 2014 will be asked this year to greenlight money for six campuses — three elementary, one junior high, one high, one alternative learning center — and about $63 million in interior and technology upgrades.
Under the district’s “moderategrowth scenario,” Lamar CISD enrollment is expected to increase from about 32,000 this year to nearly 50,000 in 2026.
“With more than 1,000 new students enrolling every year, it’s imperative that we’re proactive and not reactive to all of the growth,” said Lamar CISD Board President James Steenbergen. “All you have to do is look around and you’ll see new subdivisions popping up in every corner of Lamar CISD.”
If passed, the average Lamar CISD homeowner — whose property has a taxable value of about $231,000 — would see a $98-peryear tax increase.
Tomball ISD: $275 million
The continued growth of Tomball ISD led bond committee members to recommend construction of a new elementary school, middle school and 10,000-seat football stadium for district use. An expansion project at Tomball Memorial High School would also eliminate the need for portable classrooms.
The bond proposal includes no tax increase.
Pasadena ISD: $135 million
A new intermediate school and a refurbished Red Bluff Elementary School are the big-ticket items on Pasadena ISD’s bond proposal. It’s a relatively modest bond request, the district’s smallest since 1995.
The bond doesn’t include a tax increase, but in a separate vote on the same ballot, Pasadena voters are asked to increase the district’s maintenance-and-operations tax rate by about 12 percent. Revenue from that increase would pay for employee salaries and day-to-day costs.
Stafford MSD: $62 million
The 3,600-student district would get a new middle school, new administration building and renovations to five campuses if its largest-ever bond passes. The proposal includes an annual tax increase of about $105 per $100,000 in taxable value.
Karen Zurawski contributed to this report.