Conroe ISD’s $653.5M bond set for fall vote

The Conroe Independent School District will put before voters a scaled-back $653.5 million bond package this fall, after a larger bond measure was defeated in May.

District trustees called for the new five-year bond at a special meeting Tuesday. A proposal to spend about $24 million on turf for athletic fields will appear on the ballot as a separate measure. Neither measure will require a property tax increase.

The package would fund four new elementary schools and one new junior high school in the Caney Creek feeder zone, phase two of the Conroe High School master plan and an overhaul renovation at Oak Ridge High School.

The new package removes projects such as a teacher training facility, an agriculture complex, a maintenance facility, and renovations for Hauke High School and the Jett Center. A capital maintenance fund would also be created to handle maintenance items.

The vote on the bond was unanimous, though Trustee Dale Inman was not present. When the board voted earlier this year to call the $807 million bond election that was defeated by voters in May, Inman abstained.

Trustee Scott Moore said that everything in the bond benefits the entire community.

“If we allow our schools to become dilapidated buildings,

overcrowded places where people do not want their kids going, we’re weakening the entire community,” said Moore said. “We’re weakening the ability and desire of businesses to relocate here. … When your schools get weak, your entire community gets weak.”

Election Day is Nov. 5.

Community debate

Community members who addressed the board before the vote had mixed views.

Kelli Cook, a community member who lives in Willis and is affiliated with the Children’s Hope PAC, which opposed the spring bond, urged the board to hold off on setting a referendum until after the 2019-20 budget hearings. Cook said trustees shouldn’t stand in the way of taxpayers receiving property tax relief from the state.

“It appears you are rushing to call the bond before you finish the budget hearings. … Informed voters make better decisions,” Cook said. She said her political action committee would campaign against the bond measure.

Trustees will hold a final budget hearing and consider adopting the 2019-20 budget Aug. 20. The deadline to call a bond for this November’s election is Monday.

Other commuity members also raised concerns that the bond could lead to a property tax increase, especially amid rising property values.

Three speakers supported the new bond. They included Stuart Lapp, the chairman of the board of The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, who encouraged the board to call the referendum and be good stewards of the district.

“(Conroe ISD) is a vitally important asset for our community in attracting business. When business leaders are determining whether to relocate their operations to this county, one of the very first questions they ask is, ‘How are the schools?’ ” Lapp said. “We … have the pleasure of saying the schools are great.”

Bond basics

Superintendent Charles Null then presented an overview of the bond package. It contains almost $316 million for five new campuses and other campus additions, $239 million for campus renovations, $44.5 million for safety and security, $25 million for district support services and $29 million for land and contingency. The total is about $153 million less than the previous bond package.

Among the concerns about the original bond, Null said, were the overall pricetag and the amount for maintenance and items perceived as “fluff.” Null said district officials heard from the community and responded.

One of the groups providing input was the Texas Patriots PAC, which campaigned against the May bond.

Bill O’Sullivan, a past treasurer of the group, said his political action committee hadn’t decided where it stands on the revised bond.

“We’re still discussing; we’re a diverse group. We’re going to reach a consensus, but we’ll make a decision just before we drop literature for early voting,” O’Sullivan said.

District officials have drawn up contingency plans in the event of another defeat at the polls.

Chris Hines, the district’s deputy superintendent, said the district could impose a hiring freeze, increase teacher-to-student ratios, and reduce campus budgets in order to have cash on hand to meet needs and maintain existing facilities.

Trustee discussion

During a a discussion period, each trustee shared his or her views on the bond.

Trustee Scott Kidd reflected on the district’s position and the work that was done in past years to serve Conroe ISD students.

“We live in a great community, and people can have differences of opinions, different thoughts on this bond, but one thing we learned growing up in Conroe ISD was respect,” Kidd said. “I’m hopeful we can continue to do that no matter what we face.”