Bay Area Edition | January 2024

From the cover

CCISD’s 2017 bond comes in $38M under budget

BY JAMES T. NORMAN

The overview

Dierence in projected vs. actual costs, major CCISD bond projects Clear Creek ISD in total saved roughly $38 million on its 2017 bond, which ocials were able to roll over into the $302 million bond passed in November 2023.

Roughly 50 projects later that totaled almost $450 million in cost, CCISD has completed all projects funded by its 2017 bond. Through the pandemic, ination and a hurricane, ocials are touting the work as a success. “I think the 2017 bond was timing,” Director of Facility Services Alex Aragon said. “And we hit the timing right.” That timing included not only the pandemic, but Hurricane Harvey too, which happened in August 2017—three months after the bond was passed, said Paul Miller, assistant superintendent of support services. They were rewarded early on with under-budget projects, as ination from 2017-20 remained fairly low, Miller said. As ination grew in the next few years, however, the district oset those costs with savings from earlier projects, such as the League City Elementary renovations, Miller said. Students being out of the physical schools during the pandemic also allowed ocials to push through projects quicker, such as the list of roof projects, which also saved money. “When COVID hit ... [we] thought this might be the time to roll the dice and go,” Aragon said.

Campbell Elementary: -$12.4M

Districtwide security upgrades: +20.7M Ross Elementary: +3.9M

League City Elementary: Pushing this project up in the queue and completing it in 2019 kept it from being aected by ination post- pandemic.

League City Elementary: -$14.4M Districtwide roof replacement: -$5.3M

Safety expenses: Following the 2018 school shooting in Santa Fe, CCISD shifted more than $20 million in project savings toward additional security upgrades.

Main transportation: -$3M

Ed White Elementary: +3.6M

Armand Bayou: -$1M

-$25M

-$20M

-$15M -$10M -$5M

$5M $10M $15M

$20M

$25M

6% 16%

Total net savings: $38 million

Ination from 2017-20

Ination from 2020-23

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF THE BOND’S PROJECTS. SOURCES: CLEAR CREEK ISD, U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICSCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Stay tuned

Zooming out

Those opposed

The 2017 bond, which passed with 63.59% of the vote, in its lead-up was met with opposition from those who felt too much money was being asked for. Ratisseau counted himself among that oppo- sition, saying while he supported a bond, he felt it should have been half of what it was. Ratisseau said he feels spending money on facilities at this rate isn’t the best course of action, particularly when the district was seeing declining enrollment. CCISD has declined in enrollment in each of the last three school years.

Using bonds as the main method of facility maintenance can cause issues, said Bob Popinski, senior director of policy for education nonprot Raise Your Hand Texas. Popinski said he believes the system in general is strong in that it’s all local debt, but the state’s lack of funding for facility construction and maintenance leaves school districts picking up the tab. Debt assistance or facilities surveys could be ways for the state to help, he said. “As far as what the state osets, it really ain’t that much,” Popinski said.

CCISD ocials rolled over more than $30 million in savings from the 2017 bond to the $302 million bond approved Nov. 7. Moving into 2024, ocials have already started bidding out projects from the 2023 bond, with some expected to begin this year. Some of those projects could include: • Chillers to regulate temperature in six schools • Replacing aging fueling equipment for buses • Replacing sound and intercom systems at a few schools • Other priority repairs “The challenges [in this new bond] are going to be the supply chain issues and shortage issues,” Aragon said. “For this bond, which is mainly priority repairs, it’s going to be timing, getting equipment … and having the schools ready for the kids.”

“The district is not a growing district. It’s actually shrunk, and [ocials] are wanting to spend all this money on schools, new schools, rebuilding schools. … The bottom line is, why are you putting taxpayers in more debt when the district is shrinking?” PHIL RATISSEAU, CCISD RESIDENT

Bond election results in November 2023 for Texas school districts $15.05B in projects were approved $3.06B in projects were voted down

63 bonds failed

75 bonds passed

NOTE: THESE TOTALS ARE NOT OFFICIAL AND MAY NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE. SOURCE: TEXAS BOND REVIEW BOARDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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