GROWTH Each proposition for the bond addresses anticipated needs for the school district’s projected growth in the coming years. These are divided into new campuses, facilities and technology needs. PLANNING FOR
wide area networks across the district. Proposition B totals $46.09 million and would make improvements to athletic facilities at the districts’ high schools, including new bleachers at Canyon Lake and Davenport high schools. The funds would also be used for a eld house at Davenport. Four bonds in eight years The last time voters approved a bond was in 2021, when $411.3 million went toward building two new ele- mentary schools and a new middle school, land acquisition, and infra- structure projects across the district. The district has a history of pass- ing bonds in the years prior. In 2017, voters passed a $263.5 million bond dedicated to building new schools and purchasing school buses. In 2015, voters passed a $147.4 million bond that also directed funds for new schools, maintenance issues, and safety and security. York emphasized his appreciation of the work of the board, faculty, sta and the Comal Forward Committee. “We are an ever-growing district, and I do appreciate the passion, and really the board coming together and approving this bond for 2023,” CISD board President Jason York told Community Impact . Shopo said CISD did not see a rapid decline in enrollment as other districts did during the pandemic. “While it slowed a little bit, it just did not show any evidence of giving up anytime soon,” Shopo said. “I think a lot of the parents come from schools where they’re built, and they’re open, and within a few years, they’re already reaching capacity. And so I think we’ve started to realize that we’re going to have to continue to keep up with that growth across the district.” Some residents voiced skepticism about the bond at the Feb. 15 meeting. “We didn’t build a complete school. We’ve got about two-thirds of a school down there right now. It’s missing a bunch of facilities that all the other high schools in the district have,” res- ident Todd Arvidson said. “The time has come; it’s time to nish Daven- port. We need to get it complete.” He also said there could be a “poten- tial block” to vote the bond down if it does not complete Davenport, noting the high school does not have a eld house and other amenities.
PROJECTED GROWTH The Comal Forward Committee made accommodating for district growth the top priority due to the district’s projected growth within the next 10 years. This growth will continue to increase demand for classroom space and campuses over the course of the next decade, which Proposition A intends to address.
Elementary schools
Middle schools
High schools
20,000
Projected increase of +47.53% from 2022-23
Proposition A Growth & reinvestment
18,000
16,000
New facilities Proposition A would help fund: • three new elementary schools; • one middle school to provide relief to Oak Creek, Johnson Ranch and Bill Brown Elementary schools; and • buses and land. Safety and security A portion of funds would also be used for safety and security additions, such as: • video surveillance and active-threat noti cation system; • an emergency operations center; and outdoor cameras. Expansion & infrastructure/life cycle projects (existing facilities) Proposition A would also nance: • tennis court replacement at Canyon High School • golf practice facilities at Canyon Lake, Smithson Valley and Canyon high schools; and • electrical, drainage, paving, heating and cooling projects at multiple schools. Proposition B Stadiums Proposition B would fund: • Canyon Lake High School’s bleacher replacement; and • Davenport High School’s bleacher expansion and eld house. Proposition C Technology Funds for Proposition C would go toward: • outdoor Wi-Fi; • student learning devices; and • classroom audiovisual upgrades.
Projected increase of +46.74% from 2022-23
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
Projected increase of +47.17% from 2022-23
6,000
0 2022- 2023- 2024- 2025- 2026- 2027- 2028- 2029- 2030- 2031- 2032- 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
SOURCE: COMAL ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT
Forward Committee member. “And yet we really, really pushed the bal- ance of meeting needs by meeting the most urgent and most important needs and then balancing that with the need to protect the taxpayer that we all are and make sure that our funds are being used well.” This year, voters will have the option to consider and vote for three propositions: propositions A, B and C. The board decided to switch the order of the bond package to proposi- tions A, C and B on the ballot. Proposition A totals $560.56 mil- lion and will consist of three new ele- mentary schools that would provide relief to Bill Brown, Johnson Ranch, Oak Creek and Freiheit elementary schools. There will also be one new middle school to oset growth at Canyon Middle School. Funding would also go toward land acquisi- tion and buses. The elementary school provid- ing relief to Bill Brown would be located west of the I-35 corridor along Hwy. 46. The elementary school pro- viding relief to Johnson Ranch would be located in the Johnson Ranch/ Hidden Trails development area. The elementary school providing relief to Oak Creek and Freiheit along with the middle school aimed to o- set Canyon Middle School growth would be located o of I-35 in the Mayfair development. Proposition C costs $28 million and would go toward purchasing technol- ogy equipment, such as audiovisual devices and enhanced Wi-Fi. These funds would also go toward the pur- chase of student learning devices and
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589 square miles stretching into a small sliver of Bexar County as well as Guadalupe, Hays and Kendall coun- ties—grew by more than 4,000 stu- dents in that same time period. While the bond is below the $650 million mark—a threshold the district determined would not increase its property tax rate—property apprais- als continue to rise within the district, according to the Comal Appraisal Dis- trict. The property tax rate in CISD is $1.27 per $100 of valuation with a 20% homestead exemption. Bond at a glance The board of trustees voted 6-1 to move forward with the bond election Feb. 15. The bond package, totaling $634.66 million, was put together over the course of ve months by the district’s Comal Forward Committee, a group of 65 parents, sta, students and community members. While putting together the proposi- tions, the committee focused on var- ious district needs. Accommodating for district growth was a top priority. The district’s demographic report shows CISD is expected to grow expo- nentially over the next decade. “There were many, many, many millions of dollars of needs that were brought before the Comal Forward Committee and the board that did not make the list. And so we could have recommended a package that was much larger, that really met every request,” said Jessica Shopo, a parent, former educator and Comal
SOURCE: COMAL ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT
COMAL ISD PUTS $634M BOND ON MAY BALLOT
Voter registration The last day to register to vote for the bond election is April 6. Early voting will begin April 24 and run through May 2. When available, early- voting times and locations can be found at www.co.comal.tx.us/Elections.htm and www.co.guadalupe.tx.us/elections. Election day is May 6.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
SOURCE: COMAL COUNTYCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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NEW BRAUNFELS EDITION • MARCH 2023
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