The reasons for the school bond election, and the SAISD Board’s goals in calling for the bond election was the subject of a press conference at SAISD last Thursday. Superintendent Dr. Christopher Moran, along with Dr Merle Brandon CFO, and Board President Dr. Taylor Kingman were present.
Dr. Moran said the purpose of the press conference was to make sure the community was fully aware of the bond proposal they will be asked to vote on on May 3. He described the process through which members of the public formed the committee that made the bond recommendation to the Board.
Reasons for the School Bond
While the information about what the bond called for was not new, the District did shed some light on the Board’s reasons for calling for a bond election.
The reasons for the school bond, Dr. Brandon noted was not to build new schools for new students moving into the District. It was to renovate and replace existing structure that are failing or nearing the end of their useful life. It is important to remember that the committee met for hundreds of hours over seven meetings.
According to Dr. Kingman, the Board called for the school bond election for two reasons. First was because the Facilities Committee and the Board felt that the projects proposed were not just putting a band-aid on the facilities problems. The bond’s purpose was to create facilities that could last for seventy years. These were to be making lasting renovations and construction which are sustainable.
Freeing-up Money to Spend on Teachers, Staff and Students
The goal with the bond is to free up more funds from the District’s Maintenance and Operations Budget and put more money in teachers, staff, and students.
Kingman said the Board realizes that this is a big bond. But it believes that this is a bond that will have a lasting impact, and the District will not be putting a band-aid on its buildings that would require another bond election in two to three years.
Dr. Moran said because San Angelo does not approve school bonds very often, the District had a lot of deferred maintenance. The reason for the school bond is to address that deferred maintenance for every campus in the district, as well as safety and security for every campus in the district.
Reason for New Glenn Middle School
San Angelo Live’s Joe Hyde asked how long Glenn Middle School could be expected to last.
Dr. Moran replied that Glenn Middle School does have structural integrity issues that the District’s architects and engineers are studying. That is why a new Glenn Middle School is on the list.
Dr. Moran noted that Glenn is the second largest campus by enrollment in the District, right behind Central High School. It has enrollment of 1,263 students and is larger than Lake View. If not replaced, the District could only repair and limp along with the current building that is in its final years of service.
Dr. Kingman commented that the reality is that Glenn is a circular building built on a hill. While it may have been forward thinking for its time, it is not appropriate for today. The District cannot undo the fact that is was designed for a different concept in education. It was originally designed for 200 to 300 students.
Dr. Moran added that like San Jacinto, there are some problems with the building which just cannot be fixed or renovated.
The Board did not want to include projects that would not be sustainable in the long term for San Angelo, Dr, Kingman said. He continued by saying that they didn’t want to have to ask in future for another $30 million for yet another fix.
Reason for Lack of Specific Cost List
This reporter asked why the District had not provided more specific information about exactly what the money would be spent on.
Dr. Moran responded that typically when you present a bond, you present big ideas because the architect’s have not drawn the plans yet.
“We would get out over our skis a little bit when the bond hasn’t passed and bids have not gone out. That is why we do not have a lot of that specific information yet. If the bond passes, we can address those things in a more robust manner.”
Dr. Kingman noted that the Board chose Parkhill as the architects because they work in West Texas, and they have good data on costs and pricing because of projects they have done in places like Lubbock and Abilene.
“Plans are expensive.” Kingman said “We don’t want to spend money for the plans first because it would not come out of bond but out of the Maintenance and Operations budget.” That would take money away from teachers and students.
Taxpayers With Detailed Questions Encouraged to Call Dr. Moran
Dr, Moran encouraged any taxpayer that had those sorts of concerns to contact his office. He would be glad to sit down with them and go over the details. “We want to make people feel good with what we are doing as it is really a community decision.”
District enrollment has declined and is projected to continue to decline because of demographic changes. Dr. Moran said we have a declining birth rate and an aging population. San Angelo has experienced a 39% increase in its population over the age of 65 since 2010.
Dr. Moran said we need to plan for that. “The Board has done a great job of avoiding building new campuses and instead using the exiting campuses we have and consolidating.
With this plan the Board’s goal is to upgrade current facilities, reduce the number of failing buildings the District has to maintain, and provide appropriate educational spaces for students using current facilities.
1 Comment
If I read this article correctly, the plan is to rob Peter to pay Paul, i.e. new facilities to reduce maintence costs, move the “saved” money to teacher/administration??? salaries. Cut one, increase the other which given the district history means more deferred maintence. I thought bond money can’t cover M&O costs.