HISD mulls billion-dollar bond
Plans include major construction projects, technology upgrades, fine arts purchases
Voters living in Houston ISD could be asked to approve a new school bond totaling at least $1.2 billion as early as November, according to a recently unveiled district financial plan.
The bond would finance major construction projects, technology upgrades, fine arts purchases and other capital costs. If the bond request totals $1.2 billion, it would likely come with a tax increase of 3 cents to 7 cents per $100 of taxable value, depending on Hurricane Harvey’s impact on property values, district administrators said.
For a homeowner with a property valued at about $275,000, roughly the average in HISD in recent years, the increase would amount to $80 to $190 per year.
District leaders unveiled the plans over the weekend during a wide-ranging preview of major changes to the district’s budget, magnet schools program and approach to long-failing schools. HISD’s last bond election came in 2012, when twothirds of voters approved a $1.89 billion request.
District leaders did not present specific projects or amounts, but they’re expected in the coming months to finalize a proposal for school board members. Board trustees must approve sending a bond election to voters.
Administrators said the bond would help finance new campuses in pockets of the city’s west and south sides, where student enrollment has grown, along with upgrades to outdated elementary and middle schools. The 2012 bond largely focused on renovating and building new high schools, with 26 campuses getting about $1.3 billion worth of construction.
The district’s financial staff estimates that a $500 million bond request could be passed without raising taxes, but the amount “would not do much for a school district of this size,” HISD Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby said.
“It would be something that would possibly pass, depending on what you do, but it would not be as impactful as we need a bond to be, based on our strategic vision moving forward,” Busby said.
Nixing advisory teams
HISD has the lowest tax rate among the region’s larger districts, but it also boasts a disproportionately large tax base.
A $1.2 billion bond in HISD, the state’s largest school district, would fall in line with the amounts approved by voters in other big Texas districts. Voters in Dallas, Cy-Fair and Austin ISDs have each approved bonds of $1 billion to $1.6 billion in the past five years.
If HISD voters favor a school bond, multiple district leaders said they don’t want to use Parent Advisory Teams, which were employed to execute the 2012 bond. The teams involved parents and community members meeting frequently with architects to design campuses.
“I love my community. I do. But my community is not an architect,” HISD Board of Trustees President Rhonda SkillernJones said. “We have got to stop overindulging decision-making.”
Abbott hopes to rein in debt
Trustee Diana Dávila advocated for designs that reflect the programming within a school, particularly as the district considers overhauling its magnet and school choice systems.
“I don’t want us to go back and say, ‘Doggone it, it should have been this, and look at what it is today,’” Dávila said.
The bond announcement comes one week after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott proposed reining in debt held by local governments, including school districts. Part of Abbott’s plan involved requiring a two-third super-majority vote to approve new local debts, such as school bonds.
“While much of this debt is legitimate because local governments play a key role in providing transportation, water, and other types of infrastructure, the state must take care to ensure that debt is affordable and does not reach levels that imperil the future fiscal and economic stability of Texas,” Abbott said in his written plan.