PERUSING the propositions
Michael Yargeau, an automotive teacher at Lehman High School, spoke at the meeting with concerns about the growth and need for more space for the automotive career and techni- cal education program. “At Lehman, we have an automo- tive program that’s in its fourth year. … We’re looking at about 348 students for next year, so we’re going to need four full-time teachers,” Yargeau said. “The biggest concern is that we have one class for automotive.” He added the growth the automo- tive program has experienced was unexpected and while the bond looks to the future, this is a current need at Lehman High School. While Proposition B addresses some CTE space, the projects are focused on veterinary studies, cos- metology and barbering. “People want things immediately, but I really appreciate how people are understanding that, if a particular item doesn’t make this bond, it will hope- fully be on the next one,” Wright said. “It’s not a ‘no’; it’s just ‘not right now.’” Growing pains Proposition A, focused on aca- demics and growth, carries the most weight of the four propositions. A demographic report produced by demographics firm Population and Survey Analysts found HCISD had the fifth-highest student enrollment for the 2021-22 school year at 21,405 PROACTIVE PROPOSITION Rastegar Property Co. donated 11 acres of land within its Bunton Lane development in Kyle to Hays CISD. The plot will be reserved for the district’s 17th elementary school with nearly $76 million from Proposition A alloted for its construction.
students out of all the districts from Bastrop, Blanco, Caldwell, Hays, Tra- vis and Williamson counties. “We are a fast-growing school dis- trict, and we are adding 1,000-1,500 students per year based on upcoming projections,” Wright said. Projections from PASA estimate the district will see an enrollment increase of around 84.67% in the next decade. Proposition A includes just over $87 million for the construction and design fees of two elementary schools and a high school in an effort to be proactive about the growth. Addition- ally, Rastegar Property Co. donated 11 acres within its Bunton Lane devel- opment in Kyle to be used for one of the elementary schools Feb. 24. Ari Rastegar, founder and CEO of Rastegar Property Co., said the dona- tion was made to be conscious and thoughtful for the community’s needs above all else. If the proposition does not pass, the district will still own the land but will need to budget for the construction of the school at another time. At least eight schools across HCISD have line items in Proposition A for renovations and expansions with addi- tional districtwide improvements. Proposition C, focused on technol- ogy, is the smallest of the four and would address needed infrastructure upgrades to wireless networks, net- work security, data storage and more.
Propositions within the bond would go toward a variety of projects at different phases.
PROPOSITION A TOTAL: $208.81M ACADEMICS AND GROWTH
CONTINUED FROM 1
The road to a bond being called began with the Facility Master Plan—a living document with a list of projects needed throughout the district and a tentative outline of what year that might be placed onto a bond. The HCISD Facilities and Bond Oversight Committee, composed of trustee-appointed community mem- bers, was tasked in August with deter- mining what needs could be met with a 2023 bond while taking into account student projection data, bond capac- ity and estimated costs. Initially, the committee brought forth a proposal in December with more than 50 projects at $423 million, well past the high-end range the dis- trict needed to stay within. “This year, we wanted to be conser- vative, and that amount was anywhere from $365 [million]-$410 million,” Superintendent Eric Wright said. “We wanted to land somewhere closer to that front end.” Collaboratively, the board and committee placed some projects on the back burner and whittled down the bond total by about $60 million to fall within the desired range; after doing so, packaging the bond was addressed solely by the board. Before the board called for the new bond, there were two public forums held in January detailing the projects. Parents, teachers and community members were welcome to attend and take part in the public forum to pro- vide feedback to the board.
$87.41 million: future schools $60.9 million: school expansions and improvements $56.76 million: district wide improvements $3.75 million: transportation
PROPOSITION B TOTAL: $102.86M FINE ARTS, ATHLETICS, CTE
$49.79 million: auditorium, CTE space $22.09 million: gym, weight room $13.42 million: baseball and softball improvements $13.36 million: music halls, instruments $4.2 million: parking improvements
PROPOSITION C | TOTAL: $3.98M
• Data storage • Network security
• Technology upgrades • Wireless
PROPOSITION D | TOTAL: $52.17M
• Outdoor multipurpose pavilions • Artificial turf
• Three 84,000-sq.-ft. pavilions • Spectator seating
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HEIDENREICH LN.
SOURCES: HAYS CISD, RASTEGAR PROPERTY CO./ COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: HAYS CISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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