Ariel Worthy/Houston Public Media
Fort Bend ISD trustees voted to eliminate a new elementary from the district’s 2023 bond projects this week to help address a deficit.
The $1.26 billion bond was the largest in the school district’s history. But earlier this year, administrators told the school board that the bond was projected to exceed its budget by nearly $133 million due to rising costs.
Since then, administrators have been slowly working to decrease the bond deficit. As of Monday’s board meeting, the bond was projected to exceed its original budget by roughly $80 million.
Trustees voted 5-2 in favor of eliminating a new elementary school in the Harvest Green community, with Trustees Rick Garcia and Sonya Jones against the measure.
The school was planned to be built on former prison land, sparking concerns from some advocates in the community, who worried there could be unmarked graves on the property.
However, that controversy was not listed as one of the reasons why administrators planned to strike the school from the bond projects, and administrators announced late last year that no human remains were found on the property during an archeological survey.
According to Fort Bend ISD documents, the district’s demographer found that the elementary school would be “underutilized” from 2033 to 2034. Eliminating the project allows the district to save $47.6 million, which will be placed in the 2023 bond program contingency.
During the board meeting, Garcia advocated for delaying the decision and gathering more community feedback, before eliminating the project altogether.
“Now we’re going back and saying that ‘We’re not going to keep that promise that we made to your community,’ while at the same time, we are going keep promises to other parts of the community,” he said.
Board president Kristin Tassin said the elementary school was not financially feasible.
“We do not have the money to build this school,” she said. “I voted for the bond as a constituent, I did not sit on this board when the bond was called but … I’ve had to call bonds in the past when I was on the board and I take it very seriously when the district makes promises or commitments to the community.”
Tassin also explained that funding for the different propositions is separate. Proposition A includes the construction of new schools, while Proposition C was dedicated solely to building a new natatorium.
“We really can’t mix apples and oranges,” Tassin said. “So prop A and prop C are separate. Whether we build the pool or not has nothing to do with the money that we have in prop A.”
During their meeting this week, trustees also voted on several other measures to reduce the bond deficit.
Trustees voted to defer the construction of a new transportation facility, while they evaluate whether a special education transportation facility would better serve the school district. This action allows the district to place $19.2 million in the 2023 bond program contingency.
The district also adjusted its plans for the Hightower High School Fine Arts building to align with the original budget. The facility will be renovated, but no additions will be made to the building. This will reduce the deficit by $6 million.
Trustees also agreed not to replace grass baseball and softball fields with synthetic turf, as originally planned at 10 high schools. This will reduce the bond deficit by another $23.2 million.
In November, trustees will discuss a potential “special purpose bond” that could include the Harvest Green Elementary School and an addition to the Hightower High School Fine Arts building. Trustees also voted to postpone discussions about a natatorium included in the 2023 bond until the November meeting.