Growth, technology and maintenance are among the driving forces for the proposed May 3 Hays ISD bond election.
District officials laid out a slightly stripped-down version of proposed projects Saturday at McCormick Middle School in the first of three scheduled public forums on the bond, which is now an estimated $212 million (down from $232M).
The meetings were the first chance district residents had to hear the proposals in person, though officials are promoting online participation through the “Bond Talk” button on the Hays CISD web page.
With many campuses near capacity and student enrollment up by 800 compared to last school year, “We are here because of growth,” District spokesman Tim Savoy said.
Though the process is still fluid, Savoy said the election has been broken into seven propositions, each of which addresses a specific need. Trustees will make a final decision on the bond election by Feb. 14.
Proposition 1
Proposition 1 is to accommodate school growth, including:
Expansion and improvements to Dahlstrom, McCormick, Wallace, Chapa, Barton and Simon middle schools totaling $47,655.305. This would include a fine arts addition that would assist the district in developing an orchestra program
A new elementary school with a capacity of 900 to be built in the Sunfield addition at a coat of $35,864,394
Renovations and expansion at Live Oak Academy. Proposal would increase capacity from 200 to 476 (there are currently 140 students on the waiting list). This proposal would necessitate relocating Curriculum and Instruction to the administrative offices. Cost projected to be $8,113,384
Expansions (additional classrooms, larger cafeterias) at Negley and Elm Grove elementary schools at a cost of $14,377,000
Proposition 2
Proposition 2 deals with maintaining district assets, including:
Campus HVACs and fire alarms at Lehman and Hays high schools, Tom Green, Fuentes, Elm Grove and Kyle elementary schools and districtwide Bard AC units at a cost of $22,147,780
Campus roofing projects (done in conjunction with AC projects) at Lehman and Hays high schools and Kyle Elementary School (including walkway covers) at a cost of $6,570,064
Campus flooring projects including replacing carpet in library and/or administrative offices at Blanco Vista, Camino Real, Carpenter Hill, Science Hall, Pfluger, Fuentes, Hemphill, Elm Grove, Tobias, Tom Green and Negley elementary schools and Lehman High School; replacing gym floor at Fuentes, Negley, Tobias, and Hemphill elementary schools; and replacing vinyl tiles with polished concrete at Hays High School, Hemphill, Science Hall, Kyle, Fuentes and Tom Green elementary schools and replacing a shower drain in the boy’s red gym locker room at Hays High School at a cost of $2,522,546
Miscellaneous maintenance projects including bleachers at Hays High School and Barton Middle School; wash stations at Fuentes and Hemphill elementary schools; replace Performing Arts Center lighting and controls; and replace Hays High School theater lighting and controls at a cost of$942,000
Hardscape improvements (asphalt and concrete) at Kyle, Hemphill, Fuentes and Camino Real elementary schools, Hays High School, Dahlstrom Middle School and the Child Nutrition Warehouse at a cost of $1,020,926
Keyless entry upgrades that will automatically deactivate employee cards when they leave the district at a cost of $1,200,000
Baseball and softball improvements at Lehman High school to include renovating bleachers, backstops and dugouts and adding sidewalks for pedestrian traffic at a cost of $1,623,511
Intercom upgrades at Lehman High School, Barton, Chapa and Wallace middle schools, and Kyle, Tom Green, Elm Grove, Blanco Vista, Hemphill, Fuentes, Science Hall, Tobias, Camino Real and Negley elementary schools at a cost of $320,000
Athletic cycle maintenance on tennis courts at Barton, Chapa, Dahlstrom and Simon middle schools at a cost of $120,000
Proposition 3
Proposition 3 is for stadium renovations and expansion to 4,200 seats at Johnson and Lehman high schools.
Proposition 4
Proposition 4 is for a new administration building. Curriculum and Instruction and Special Education Department would be moved to newly constructed Central Office at a cost of $27,7668,317
Proposition 5
Proposition 5 is for technological upgrades — adding storage capacity at a cost of $200,000 and providing additional mobile devices for teaching, virtual learning and on-line state assessments at a cost of $1,100,000
Proposition 6
Proposition 6 is for 28 new school buses and was scaled down from what will be needed in five years to what will be needed in three, cost estimated at $3,266.434
Proposition 7
Proposition 7 is to purchase land for future schools at a cost still to be determined.
Removed from consideration were improvements to Historic Buda School, expansion of the weight room at Hays High School, demolition of Old Buda Elementary, uniform replacement and an agriculture barn.
Savoy stressed the importance of community involvement in the bond process. “It begins with the community, goes full circle and comes back to the community,” he said. If the bond election is called but voted down, “nothing occurs.”
