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The Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees is days away from deciding whether to call a bond election and for how much after the board’s Facilities Committee held its final meeting on Monday.
The board is strongly considering calling a bond election for May because it can do so with little or no impact on the district’s debt, or I&S tax rate, which stands at 24 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation.
A special-called board meeting is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the BISD board room at 1900 Price Road to consider the options and take action before the state deadline of Feb. 14 for calling a May election.
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 on Thursday, it could call a bond election with minimal impact on its I&S tax rate, call one in November, or not call a bond election at all.
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 2025, it may face an uphill battle for voter approval due to a tax increase.
The board could also call for a bond election for as much as $350 million without affecting the tax rate.
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, Chief Financial Officer Alejandro Cespedes said in a presentation to the Facilities Committee last week.
Monday night he said BISD has the lowest bonded debt among all districts in the Edinburg-based Region One Educational Service Center. Some districts of about BISD’s size in San Antonio have bonded debt into the billions of dollars, he said, citing a state bond review board website.
Some could say low-bonded debt is a good thing, “but you have to remember that this is a perfect way for a district to responsibly borrow money from taxpayers to be able to not only maintain facilities but do any type of expansions, acquisition or new construction,” Cespedes said.
There is wide agreement that BISD facilities need roofing and HVAC upgrades.
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 on Jan. 27. The document 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 would address the construction, acquisition, or equipping of a long-desired performing arts facility.
The executive summary states that the district-wide sub-committee supported the development of a dedicated arts center for the district, but the overall Citizens Facilities Committee did 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.
On Monday night, Cespedes outlined two preliminary PAC options.
>> A 68,000-square-foot facility with a spacious lobby, a black box theater and seating for a little over 1,200 patrons, 800 on the orchestra level, 400 on the balcony level. The black box theater would seat 250.
This option would cost an estimated $950 per square foot for a total of about $65 million.
>> A budget friendly version has all the same features. It would be 43,500 square feet. This one would be around $600 per square foot. You’re looking at about $32.6 million once you include soft costs, such as furniture, Cespedes said.
Cespedes presented four bond package 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. The option could be structured for a total bond package of approximately $200 million to $263 million. It would allow the district to keep its debt rate of 24 cents per $100,000 valuation and allow one year of planning time to propose a bond election in November 2025 or May 2026.
This option also would give the district time to plan a Performing Arts Center, as well as a Career and Technical Education center.
The Citizens Facilities Committee listed a new CTE 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.
