On Tuesday, Nov. 6, Spring Branch voters
will be asked to consider a $597.1 million
bond issue to replace the district’s
oldest schools, build new classrooms, and
upgrade safety and security, classroom technology,
transportation and athletics.
The proposed bond package would spend $249.1
million to replace 12 elementary schools
at their current locations. These schools
were built between 1938 and 1967. Additions
have expanded many campuses since first
built.
Recent additions, including libraries,
gyms and multipurpose rooms, have been retained
in proposed rebuilding plans. Every effort
will be taken to save portions of these
facilities that have been built within the
past decade, district leaders have said.
SBISD campuses to be rebuilt are Spring
Branch Elementary, built in 1938; Housman
Elementary, 1950; Ridgecrest Elementary,
1953; Pine Shadows Elementary, 1955; Valley
Oaks Elementary, 1956; Hollibrook Elementary,
1957; Shadow Oaks Elementary, 1959; Frostwood
Elementary, 1960; Edgewood Elementary, 1960;
Westwood Elementary, 1963; Meadow Wood Elementary,
1964; and Wilchester Elementary, 1967.
A priority ranking system was used by several
groups, including both the SBISD Bond Advisory
Committee and the SBISD Board of Trustees,
to decide on schools to be rebuilt.
In 2006, the district’s Long Range
Facilities Planning Committee first identified
the need to replace facilities that would
be very expensive to maintain in the future.
The Bond Advisory Committee, a group of
more than 60 residents, parents, teachers
and administrators representing every attendance
zone and key stakeholder groups, began its
own series of meetings in December 2006.
Since the average year of construction
for district schools is 1967, the committee
found that the cost to renovate schools
was often a relatively high percent of the
overall cost to replace schools.
“It is more fiscally responsible
to replace these schools with new schools
than to continue to maintain schools with
an average age of 41 years,” this
group of involved parents, teachers and
active community members states in the 2007
Bond Plan report.
To help guide its process and work, the
committee used the Priority Ranking Chart
developed by the Long Range Facility Planning
Committee to help identify schools to be
replaced.
A so-called technical “condition
matrix” used by architects, builders
and planners was developed, which includes
assessment scores, functional scores, and
percentage ratings.
View the 2007 Bond Plan
Priority Ranking Charts
Assessment scores include the Facility
Condition Index, which identifies the current
condition of the building in relation to
a repair/replacement ratio, and the Extended
Facility Condition Index, which identifies
the future condition of the building in
relation to this ratio.
Functional scores were given in seven categories,
including Master Plan/Site Issues, Building
Plan/Layout, Percentage of Additions, Code
Issues, Texas Accessibility Standards, Asbestos
Control Management or Abatement, and Mechanical
Reports.
In addition to rebuilding 12 schools, the
Nov. 6 Bond Election includes $66.7 million
for district-wide improvements in classroom
technology, additional classrooms for growth,
and upgrades for safety and security, science
labs and buses; $260 million for facility
systems upgrades; and $21.1 million for
contingency needs.
The projected tax rate impact is an additional
6.95 cents, lower than the 9.75 cents projected
when the Board of Trustees first called
the election.
If approved, the bond issue will cost the
owner of a $200,000 home an additional $101
per year in school taxes. Since property
taxes were recently reduced by the Texas
Legislature, however, the school property
tax rate will still be lower than it was
last year.
The bond issue will not affect the taxes
of anyone 65 years or older, or the disabled,
who have qualified for homestead exemption.
For details on the Bond Election, please
visit SBISD’s Bond Facts site
and the 2007 Bond Plan for detailed
descriptions of the schools to be replaced.
Bond
Facts
Spanish
Vietnamese
posted 11-01-07
