UPDATE: Perrin-Whitt school board calls special meeting to consider bond election

Perrin-Whitt CISD called a special meeting set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12 where school board trustees are expected to decide whether to call for a bond election in November. The board has until the end of day Monday, Aug. 18 to call for an election.

The district’s facilities committee met over the summer to balance wants against needs to recommend a bond package to the board at the regular meeting Tuesday, July 29.

About 20 people, made up the committee of parents, district staff and community members, evaluated the needs assessment and reviewed recommendations to set priorities.

The committee recommended a total investment of $30,085,344 with a 37-cent increase to the interest and sinking tax rate for a new total rate of $1.17 for 30 years.

Included in the package was $25,272,000 for a new elementary school academic wing, $3,240,000 for Ag shop and career and technical education building renovations, $1,231,200 to renovate the athletics restroom and concession stand and $342,144 to resod the football field.

“The needs of the district are wide. They’re way larger than this district could pass a bond to fix,” facilities committee representative Kit Mason said. 

Mason said the committee discussed projected enrollments and reviewed financial data.

“Huge on that list was that our values are going down. We lost about a $7 million capacity to pass a bond between the last one and this one,” Mason said. “It’s tough dealing with a very finite amount of dollars and an infinite amount of needs.”

Other priorities identified were the need for a new cafeteria with a stage and storm shelter and secondary school renovations. The committee reviewed five bond packages ranging from $12 million to just over $30 million before taking a vote to narrow the selection down. Only two packages received votes.

The other package had a total investment of $25,642,624 and would renovate the elementary school instead of new construction. Also included was building a new cafeteria, installing drainage prevention at the baseball and softball fields and improving parking lots, as well as resodding the football field and renovating restrooms, the concession stand and Ag and CTE buildings.

The difference between the two packages was about $5 million, with about an 8-cent impact on the overall I&S rate, costing about $43 per year for average priced homes in the district.

After more discussion and another two rounds of voting, the larger package was selected to present to the board.

Mason said that while not everyone on the committee agreed on a package, everyone wanted to do something to improve PWCISD. He understood the board was concerned about increasing the tax burden on the community, but Mason said that wasn’t the case.

“That’s the community’s decision. What we’re asking you to do is approve going forward with calling for [an election], then let the community decide,” Mason said.

If called, the election will take place Tuesday, Nov. 4.