El Paso ISD school board to vote on up to $480 million bond election
The El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees will decide Tuesday whether to call for nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of bond propositions during the Nov. 3 election to bring updated cooling systems and other improvements to its campuses.
District officials are expected to present three bond options to the board, ranging from nearly $209 million to about $481 million, each with four propositions, according to documents posted to the district’s website.
If approved, the proposals would be among the first steps needed for EPISD to begin work on a $1 billion long-range master plan that would address the district’s needs and desired improvements. The plan was developed by the district’s Citizens Bond Steering Committee, made of parents, local residents and school employees, among others.
The decision whether to call for the district’s first bond proposal in a decade comes less than a week after the board appointed Matthew Reza and Brian Kelley to represent Districts 6 and 7, respectively. The seats were left vacant after Daniel Call and Valerie Ganelon Beals resigned in June after the board declared financial exigency, which allowed the district to lay off dozens of employees to cut costs.
El Paso ISD officials didn’t return requests for comment on Tuesday’s meeting.
EPISD has over 46,000 students across over 70 campuses that on average are over 49 years old.
If the board calls for the bond election, early voting would run Oct. 19-30, with Election Day being Nov. 3. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 5.
What is being proposed?
Option 1 asks voters for $208.9 million under four propositions:
- Proposition A: $159.2 million to upgrade air conditioning, make safety and transportation improvements and to renovate vacant properties
- Proposition B: $10.6 million for new technology for students
- Proposition C: $25.6 million for athletic stadium renovations
- Proposition D: $13.5 million to refinance the district’s debt
Option 2 totals $445.8 million and includes everything from Option 1, plus additional improvements that increase Proposition A to $396 million.
Option 3 would cost $480.8 million and include everything from the previous options, plus additional deferred maintenance costs.
The presentation did not specify which campuses would get improvements under the propositions, but the district has made converting all evaporative coolers into refrigerated air conditioning within the next two years one of its top priorities.
What options does the board have?
The board can vote to adopt a resolution calling for an election, vote not to – or do nothing.
The board has until Aug. 17 to call for a bond election to be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Otherwise, the district will need to wait until May to hold a bond election. The deadline to call for a bond election in the May uniform election is in February.
How would a bond impact taxes?
District officials have not publicly stated the impact the different scenarios would have on tax bills on the average-priced home in the district, only discussing tax rates – the amount charged per $100 property valuation.
If voters approve the first two options, EPISD plans to maintain a tax rate of $1.08 per $100 valuation, which would likely still lead homeowners to see increases in the district’s portion of their tax bill as home valuations rise.
The third option would raise EPISD’s tax rate by one cent to $1.09 per $100 valuation, further increasing those tax bills.
Homeowners age 65 and older have their school taxes frozen and won’t see an increase in their tax bill regardless if the bond passes.
EPISD published a tax impact estimator on its website to help homeowners determine how the bond may affect their tax bill, but does not specify the tax rate or which propositions were included in the calculations. The district didn’t respond to questions about the estimator.
