Arlington ISD trustees will decide in February between two $400 million-plus bond proposals that they can send to voters either in May or November.
The decision comes down to two main points: How pressing are the district’s needs, and what do they believe voters can stomach at the ballot.
Trustees will next discuss the proposals Feb. 5. The deadline for the school board to file a May bond election is Feb. 13.
The school board first created a capital needs steering committee, made up of community members, in October. The committee’s purpose is to evaluate what equipment, repairs and building projects the district needs.
Committee co-chair Catherine Parra and committee member Nick Heizer presented the board with two lists of projects totaling $406 million and $421 million during a Jan. 22 board meeting.
In both proposals, South Davis Elementary School would see an over $65 million rebuild.
Trustees recently voted to close Blanton Elementary, just over 2 miles from South Davis.
One point of contention is a second elementary school renovation that does not appear in the bond program, but was floated to the committee over the past three months.
Board President Justin Chapa said he had hoped South Davis would be included in the 2019 bond program, but it was scheduled for a later time. He wants the second elementary school upgrades included now.
“I don’t want to have another South Davis situation where unexpected contingencies come up, and we go out for a bond that’s not including that extra elementary school now, and it’s another 10 years before we can get that building addressed,” Chapa said at the meeting.
Both bond proposals include funds for restroom renovations, classroom equipment and more.
The first bond proposal is $406 million. Out of the 55 projects listed in the proposal, 47 of them had a consensus vote of over 75% by committee members who had participated in the bond survey.
What are some of the big-ticket items on the first bond proposal?
- Roof replacements at one high school, one junior high and two elementaries: $15 million
- Furniture, fixtures and equipment at 15 elementary schools: $15 million
- Elementary school gym renovation, storm shelter and fire lane renovations: $26 million
- South Davis Elementary rebuild: $65 million
- Facilities infrastructure networking equipment: $26 million
- Student devices, which will go to each student: $25 million
- School conversion for special education 18+: $21 million
According to the committee’s estimation, the bond would require a tax rate increase of 0.6 cents, or $6 per every $100,000 in taxable home value.
The second bond program is $421 million.
The key difference is about $15 million for new artificial turf at Multipurpose Activity Centers at AISD’s six comprehensive high schools; artificial turf at softball fields; and new equipment including copiers, printers, scanners, phones and PA systems.
Heizer said the second bond proposal would require a 0.7 cent tax rate increase, or $7 per every $100,000 in taxable home value.
Safety and the lifespan of certain items were two main concerns that pushed most of the items over 75% consensus, while future maintenance was a large factor in committee members’ voting for new turf, Heizer said.
“This is something we have seen across the state, and I would argue the nation, as more and more districts look for ways to reduce future maintenance costs,” Heizer told trustees.
Neither proposal included the second rebuild of an elementary school. Committee members said they wanted trustees to look at campus closures and mergers for underenrolled schools before moving forward, Heizer said.
Trustee Brooklyn Richardson agreed with Chapa’s concerns that postponing the rebuild of the second school could lead to a long wait for students when the district needs it now.
“I have a slight concern that we are already behind,” Richardson told members of the committee. “We already know these needs.”
Adding the new school to the bond proposal would bring a roughly 1.2 cent tax rate increase to the ballot, which would amount to $12 per every $100,000 of taxable home value.
Richardson said she did not want trustees to worry about their re-electability when deciding whether to put the school on the ballot, but instead to ensure that all students are at a campus where they can learn the best.
“Not everyone gets to go to a Thornton (Elementary), a Webb (Elementary), a Berry (Elementary), a Gunn Junior High, a new addition in Arlington High School, not everybody has that ability,” Richardson said. “When we talk about wanting to make sure all of our students have the same experience of quality, I don’t feel like that’s always there for all of our kids.”
Trustee David Wilbanks agreed that there is a need for a new rebuilt school, but said he was concerned about whether the full package would pass with such an increase.
Since 2020, Arlington ISD’s tax rate has been on a steady decline.
Superintendent Matt Smith said the district polled possible voters on a 1-cent tax rate increase and a zero-cent increase. The polling did not include a 1.2-cent increase.
The results of that polling will be shown to the trustees Feb. 5.
Wilbanks said the lack of data on such an increase leads him to pause, he told Smith.
“We know we need to ensure whatever we put forward passes,” Wilbanks told committee members.
Wilbanks also suggested separating the second school from the first bond and finding other ways to put funding toward another rebuild or possibly putting that school into a later future bond.
“We’ve got some extra pots that we can borrow from in the interim while we’re waiting for a second bond to pass,” Wilbanks said. “I think we, as a district, can get creative if for that second elementary school, the sentiment is not there.”
Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org.
At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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