Education
BY SARAH BRAGER
Cy-Fair ISD will not pursue a bond referendum in May after Harris County ocials said they could not support the district with election resources, Superintendent Doug Killian said Feb. 5. Killian made the announcement after CFISD’s Long Range Planning Committee recommended the district send a $1.64 billion bond to voters for approval in 2026 to support infrastructure improvements, vehicle replacements and technology investments. The committee was prepared to let the board select a May 2 or Nov. 3 election, the two uniform 2026 bond election dates in Texas. However, Harris County ocials informed CFISD the county would not be entering agreements with local political subdivisions for May 2 elections, the County Clerk’s Oce conrmed with Community Impact , meaning a May election is o the table. Cy-Fair ISD bond election delayed
Life of Cy-Fair ISD vehicle inventory
Breaking it down
School buses
White eet*
Multi-purpose vehicles
Composed of a wide range of district stake- holders, the committee based its proposal o a months-long evaluation of the CFISD’s infrastruc- ture, enrollment, campus quality and eet life. High-priority investments include vehicle replacements, athletic facility upgrades, radio system improvements and renovations to ne arts buildings, among others, according to a Feb. 5 presentation to the board of trustees. The committee condensed its initial proposal from a six-year plan to ve years, saving the district approximately $83.4 million in inationary costs, according to district documents. However, Killian said by pushing the bond election to November and further delaying projects and purchases, the district may lose those savings. LRPC Co-Chair Anya Lucas told the board that committee members ensured the proposal was strictly needs-based and reected cost-saving measures. “When you think about education and you think about taking care of things, there’s a cost to everything we do in our lives,” Lucas said.
Number of vehicles
Less than 5 years old
565
123
14
5-9 years old
345
273
16
$82.2M school bus upgrades $10.9M white eet/MPV upgrades $2.34M transportation safety and security upgrades
10-14 years old 10
154
48
15+ years old 9
136
*REFERS TO NONBUS SUPPORT VEHICLES SOURCE: LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEECOMMUNITY IMPACT
Proposed ballot propositions The committee split its bond proposal into four potential ballot propositions:
Diving in deeper
conducting multiple elections within a com- pressed time frame, which places signicant demands on stang, voting equipment, logistics and polling locations,” a statement to Community Impact reads. CFISD Director of General Administration Scott Tucker said self-administering a May 2 election would cost the district approximately $1.4 million. In comparison, CFISD’s election costs have histori- cally ranged from about $250,000-$760,000 when supported by the county, he said.
The Harris County Clerk’s Oce said 2026 has been “unusually demanding,” having administered a January special election for Texas’ 18th Congressional District and March 3 Democratic and Republican primary elections. The oce is statutorily obligated to support primary elections and the May 26 runos. As a result, the County Clerk’s oce said it does not have the operational capacity to “responsibly or compliantly” support other local elections in May. “The oce is currently responsible for
$1.3B: critical infrastructure, safety and security, technology infrastructure and transportation $256M: instructional technology $60.8M: athletics $20.125M: pools
Total: $1.64B
NOTE: VALUES HAVE BEEN ROUNDED SOURCE: LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEECOMMUNITY IMPACT
CFISD bond history past 25 years
What’s next?
2001 $470M
are subject to change pending potential adjustments for in ationary costs.
CFISD ocials intend to revisit the bond proposal for a potential November election. The deadline for the board to call a Nov. 3 bond election is Aug. 17, per the secretary of state’s website. Board President Julie Hinaman recommended trustees discuss the proposal during their June meetings, rather than waiting until mid-August to revisit the bond. The board does not meet in July. District ocials said details in the bond proposal
2004 $713.2M
2007 $807M
“It’s just the element of wanting to make sure that we can maximize the opportunity for our voters in CFISD to have the ability to cast their votes on issues that are important to the district,” Tucker told Community Impact. “When we partner with the county, we have greater exibility to allow opportunities for voters to do that.”
2014 $1.2B
2019 $1.762B
2026* $1.34B
*PROPOSED SOURCE: CYFAIR ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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CYFAIR JERSEY VILLAGE EDITION
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