HPISD Trustees to Ask Voters to Approve Bond Package

HPISD voters will be asked to approve a $137.3 million maintenance and efficiency bond package when they go to the polls on Nov. 5.

The district’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to put the package before voters during a special meeting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6. 

The money is needed to address immediate maintenance and safety needs, free up funds for teacher salaries, and finance capital improvements and property acquisition, assistant superintendent for business services Scott Drillette told the board.

“A passage of the bond proposition would have no debt tax increase from a rate perspective,” said Michael Denton, Jr., who chaired the Community Advisory Committee that recommended a bond. “All the money raised by the bond stays here. Every campus is positively influenced and affected, and will have more money in the maintenance and operations to fund teacher pay and staff salaries.”

Potential bond projects include:

$32,863,152 — Immediate Maintenance and Safety Needs. These include repairs to the failing chiller piping system at the middle and intermediate campus. The district has paid for repairs with money from its general operating fund, which finances salaries and daily expenses. It hopes to repay the fund with bond dollars. Also included are safety, security, and other necessary upgrades.

$19,903,319 — Budget and Compensation Optimization. Bond dollars cannot be used for teacher and staff salaries, but the district could free up additional dollars for staff compensation by reducing the daily expenses that come out of its general fund. It hopes to purchase buses instead of paying to charter them, to install LED lighting upgrades at some campuses, and to put bond dollars toward the purchase of software and instructional supplies.

$39,000,000 — Property Acquisition. Highland Park High School sits on 23 acres, while most similarly-sized area high schools are on 75 to 125 acres, Drillette told the board. The district needs to acquire land to maintain competitive facilities and resources, he said. A potential property acquisition is east of the high school and adjacent to land the district already owns.

$45,533,529 — Campus and District Improvements. Projects would be primarily at the district’s older campuses, with some money reserved for improvements and upgrades at the district’s four new elementaries as those schools age. Among the more significant proposals are about $5.6 million in renovations to the high school kitchen and cafeteria, and over $4.8 million in improvements to the middle school play area, field, and track.

Passage of the bond package would not increase the district’s tax rate, Drillette said. A 23-member Community Advisory Committee recommended in April that the board consider a $130 to $140 million bond package.

Click HERE to watch a recording of the meeting on our Facebook page. More information about the bond package is also available on the district’s website.