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The Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees has moved a step closer to calling a bond election for May after receiving the final report from its Citizens Facilities Committee on Thursday.
For the past two years, BISD has paid down its bonded debt through defeasance resolutions, saving the district $1.5 million in bond interest and placing it in prime position to call a bond election.
Depending on the choices the board makes at a Feb. 13 meeting, it could call a bond election with minimal or some impact on its debt, or I&S tax rate, call one in November, or not call a bond election at all.
Chief Financial Officer Alejandro Cespedes outlined the options to the Facilities Committee on Thursday. The committee will meet one more time on Monday evening before the full board decides the way forward next Thursday.
Because of the defeasance payments, BISD must make bond payments for 2025 totaling just $39.68 million, a relatively small amount compared to other districts its size, who along with some districts even half the size of BISD have bonded debt of as much as $500 million, Cespedes said in a presentation Thursday night.
Under the leadership of Superintendent Jesus H. Chavez, the BISD Board of Trustees established the Citizens Facilities Committee in November, which then conducted walk-through assessments of all district facilities.
The committee, which totaled some 100 members and was headed by Rusty Brechot and Henry LeVrier, issued its final report at a Jan. 27 meeting. The document that the facilities committee officially received Thursday numbers 152 pages and includes assessments of all BISD facilities.
It recommends a general-purpose bond proposition of about $350 million be placed before BISD voters for approval on a May 2025 election ballot as Proposition A.
A separate Proposition B could address the construction, acquisition, or equipping of a long-desired performing arts facility.
The executive summary states that the district-wide sub-committee supports the development of a dedicated arts center for the district, but the overall Citizens Facilities Committee does not. The board will need to discuss this proposition and decide whether to include it as part of the total bond issuance package.
Additional details such as the size, seating capacity and location of a performing arts center will need to be determined,” the executive summary states.
Based on a performing arts center between 43,000 and 57,000 square feet, the estimated cost would be between $40 million and $55 million.
The $350 million Proposition A includes:
>> A new Career and Technical Education center of 43,000 to 65,000 square feet at a cost between $35 million and $47 million as priority one.
Last year, BISD sold the Cummings Middle School campus to the city of Brownsville for expansion of the Gladys Porter Zoo for $16 million.
The money is invested in a trust fund. BISD is now leasing the campus, which has been used for several years as a CTE campus. BISD is obligated to move out within five years.
The bond would set aside $25 million for a CTE center.
>> Some $305.9 million in roofing upgrades to 15 elementary schools, three middle schools and three high schools, along with HVAC upgrades or replacements at the same schools minus Besteiro Middle School.
>> Major renovations to Canales and Sharp elementary schools, Stell Middle School and Pace Early College High School.
The Canales renovation would demolish part of the campus to build a new classroom wing, cafeteria, gymnasium, front of the campus glass corridor, restrooms and parking for an estimated cost of $20.6 million.
The Sharp renovation would include construction of new classroom wing and window replacement across the campus at an estimate cost of $31.4 million.
The Stell renovation would include a 15,000 square-foot classroom wing, enclosing certain walkways that connect different wings, upgrading the campus intercom system, renovating the front of the campus/administration building, including administration offices, at an estimated cost of $17.7 million.
Pace Early College High School would receive a $22.6 million renovation, including renovations to staff and student restrooms, upgrading/replacing the flooring and windows, as well has upgrading HVAC systems.
>> Replacing 70 of BISD’s 270 school buses for $11.5 million, and building a new transportation building and warehouse for $29.6 million.
>> Technology to replace and upgrade student devices, with a replacement rotation of 50% of student devices yearly. The estimated annual cost would be $3 million.
BISD faces a Feb. 14 deadline to call an election under Texas law. As well, the 89th Texas Legislature is meeting in Austin, and has already given some indication it could tighten the rules for public school bond elections by raising the threshold for voter approval to 60%, Cespedes said.
Any changes would not apply to a May 2025 election. The Legislature has already tightened the rules since the last time BISD held a bond election in 2006, when voters approved a $135 million bond.
Should the board decide not to call a bond election for May 2025 the maximum I&S tax rate BISD could enact would be 13 cents, meaning that taxes would decrease.
If the board were to call a bond election for November, it would face an uphill battle for voter approval because taxpayers would be unlikely to approve a tax increase.
After Cespedes completed his presentation, Chief Operations Officer Nellie Cantu presented possible locations for the new CTE Center and Performing Arts Center.
A minimum of 10 acres would be required for each, reducing the list of BISD-owned properties to only a few, the top two being a property on Morrison Road that has been suggested before for the PAC and one behind Lacks Furniture off Pablo Kisel Boulevard for the CTE Center.
Cespedes presented four options for board consideration,
>> A $350 million bond with a cutoff at the point where projects meet funds available.
>> A $350 million bond as Proposition A, with a separate Proposition B for the PAC, which would result in a tax increase, possibly to 30 cents from 24 cents. Each cent of I&S levy generates about $14.5 million, Cespedes said.
>> A $350 million bond, but deleting projects to the threshold where the PAC could be included.
>> The administration’s recommendation, which would only address immediate needs at this time. This option could be structured for a total bond package of approximately $200 million to $263 million and allow the district to keep its debt rate of 24 cents per $100,000 valuation, thus allowing one year of planning time to propose a bond election in November 2025 or May 2026, plus time to plan the CTE center and Performing Arts Center.
Facilities committee members suggested investigating whether the two centers could be built as a multi-use center for both CTE and performing arts.
