EPISD $669 million bond proposal to be presented Today

The Facilities Advisory Committee that crafted the El Paso Independent School District’s latest bond proposal met Monday night for a final time before it formally presents its proposal to the EPISD board of trustees Today.

At $668,695,577, this latest bond proposal would be the largest in the city’s history.

The projected tax impact for the committee-approved project list is a maximum of 0.1880 cents. The tax impact on a home of average value, with an average taxable value of $113,037 is $212.59 per year, or 17.72 per month, at its peak.

Some of the approved projects include:

Burges High School is approved for a $56,783,048 rebuild.

Jefferson/Silva High School is approved for a $39,631,708 renovation.

Coronado High School is approved for a $73,885,792 rebuild.

Lincoln K-8 will consolidate with Bond and Roberts elementary schools.

Henderson K-8 will consolidate with Bonham Elementary School.

The El Paso Independent School District is trying to streamline and modernize the district. The approved projects also include laptops for students and teachers, totaling $6,565,000.

There are also improvements to transportation. Twenty-four regular buses and 23 special education buses would be added, at a cost of $4,831,061.

One of the more controversial proposed projects was the consolidation of the Chamizal elementary schools. That project was not approved.

The board has until Aug. 22 to call for a bond. If that happens, the bond would be on the November ballot.

The district is projected to lose 5,000 students in the next five years. Each student brings in about $6,000 in state and federal money, which means the district stands to lose $30 million dollars in funding over that period. District administrators have said they’d rather shift money towards education instead of using it to maintain aging, half-empty schools.

El Paso ISD Board of Trustees will hear the Facilities Advisory Committee’s proposal for a $668.7 million bond issue at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at EPISD central office, 6531 Boeing Drive.