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Question – “Isn't the high school
structurally sound, and if so, why do we need to tear down a good
building just to build a new one? Isn't this just an effort to keep up
with the other towns in the area?”
The whole conversation about school
facilities began with the thought of doing some renovations to the
existing high school facility to improve it as a positive learning
environment for students. This original high school building dates
back to the early 1950’s, and has been in continual usage for over
fifty years. While additions and renovations have been done in the
past, the district now faces new requirements regarding building codes
for educational facilities from both the national level and the state
level.
Consideration was given to begin making
some cosmetic improvements to the building, but rather than using
resources in an unwise manner, the Board directed the administration
to investigate the status of the building and how much life was
actually left in the building. That was done with an internal study of
the building using educational facility standards that are set by the
Texas Education Agency.
What was discovered in doing the study
was that none of the existing high school structure is compliant with
the requirements that have been set by the state for high schools in
Texas. Many of the current classrooms are big enough for only fifteen
students, but, hold as many as twenty students during certain class
periods.
While some people might ask, “Why we
don’t just renovate the existing structure?” a problem arises in
trying to accomplish that goal. The requirement of the various codes
that a school district must follow when a building is renovated must
be met when renovations exceed 50%. This means that if the current
building was simply renovated, the campus would lose five classrooms,
going from eleven to six classrooms.
Additionally, when you have to meet the
new building code standards for handicapped accessibility and all the
new environmental and energy requirements, the cost to renovate
becomes more expensive than new construction.
The Board also had a comprehensive master
plan and facility assessment done by an architectural and engineering
firm. One of the conclusions that was made in the study is that, in
addition to the building not being compliant in regards to handicapped
accessibility and size requirements, the building is also a safety
hazard in that it is absent of recommended critical minimum life
safety measures. These consist of audible and visual fire alarm
systems, one-hour fire rated corridors, and twenty minute fire-rated
corridor doors equipped with closers.
In walking through the building, you
begin to notice that the building can no longer handle the electrical
load requirements that now exist with all of the new technology that
is now required for students. Many of the classrooms in the original
wing use electrical breaker switches to turn-off and on the lights and
outlets in the rooms. Structurally, there are issues with the facility
in regards to its age and the deterioration that has occurred over the
past fifty years.
Commercial construction tells us that the
normal life span for a commercial building with normal usage is
approximately forty to fifty years. School buildings get even more
usage than a regular commercial building, with large numbers utilizing
the building on a regular basis. Given that the current high school is
over fifty years in age, it has been an effective building that has
been well utilized. The district must now look forward to the next
fifty years to determine how to best serve its students of today and
more importantly, the students of tomorrow.
I am very aware that other districts in
our area are also building new school facilities. The issue is not
about keeping up with the “Jones’”, but rather what is in the best
interest of our community. When people are looking to relocate to a
community they look for certain things in making that determination.
One of the big things is the local school system. Parents and students
want quality educational facilities and often pick a community based
on how the schools look.
Today we, as a community, are in
competition for new residents. Those people looking to move to our
area will look at DeLeon - but they will also look at Comanche,
Dublin, and Gorman. They will look at test scores, programs,
activities, and the facilities that are available to serve their
needs.
For the well-being of DeLeon, investment
in the infrastructure of our community is the key to keeping our
community alive and strong for years to come.
 This bond is about making DeLeon stronger
and providing a great place to live and raise families for years come
- just as it has been in years past.
Question – “Everyone would like
a new
home, car, church, school or whatever. Other than a newer facility,
what would we get in a new high school that we do not already have?”
The current high school is a facility
that does not meet the facility standards that have been set by the
Texas Education Agency. The state has prescribed what school
facilities should look like. In particular, they have set standards
for the size of classrooms and the number of students that can be
accommodated in those classrooms. The current high school,
particularly the original structure built in the early 1950s, is
composed of classrooms that are too small - based on state standards
to accommodate the students that attend classes in those rooms.
Additionally, there is a gain in the
number of classrooms for the district. The new requirements by the
state, to teach four years of science and four years of math, requires
the district to have more classrooms to accommodate this requirement.
Particularly in the area of science, labs are needed for science
instruction, not only at the high school level, but also at the lower
grade levels beginning with fifth grade. Students beginning at grade
five, then at other grades past fifth grade, are required by the state
to take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills (TAKS) test in
science.
A major component of the state’s science
curriculum is that students should be spending approximately 40% of
their time doing actual lab work. To meet this requirement will take
more lab space. The new high school would add two additional science
labs - that in the past have been shared between the middle school and
the high school. The existing high school labs would become dedicated
middle school science labs, exclusively for the use of middle school
students, while the high school would get labs that would be
exclusively for their use.
Please note also that none of the
existing labs meet state standards for high school science labs. They
do meet standards for science labs for middle school students.
The community would gain a facility to
accommodate various community functions of groups up to 500 in an
assembly format and 250 at tables and chairs. Currently there is no
facility in DeLeon that can handle an event with 500 people, except
for the new gymnasium with chairs placed on the gym floor.
This facility is being planned with the
community in mind. One of the benefits of this building would be an
exterior door for direct facility access to the library. Such access
will make it easy for community groups to use the district’s
resources, such as the distant learning lab for training sessions,
while maintaining the security of the remaining portions of the
building.
Energy efficiency is also gained as a
benefit of a new facility. The high school currently uses a wall pack
heating and air-conditioning system that is one of the most expensive
systems to operate in a commercial building. A new building would
contain more energy efficient systems.
Additionally, the district
would install an energy management system, to insure that the building
is heated and cooled in the most efficient manner as possible.
Question – “Our school enrollments have been
shrinking for several years. If our student base is declining, how
could we possibly be out of room and need new construction?”
Actually, the enrollment of the district
is up for the current school year. Last year during the spring
semester, the district’s enrollment was 650 students. This school year
the district’s enrollment has been as high as 695, and the average
monthly enrollment for the first semester was 686 students.
Parents and students are considering
DeLeon when they come into the area and look at school districts.
Quality instructional facilities are one of the things that is looked
at when making that decision. A strong enrollment is important to the
district and the community as a whole. Each new student that enrolls
and attends school in DeLeon increases the amount of state funding the
district receives by approximately $5,000. A strong student enrollment
allows the district to continue to offer the various programs that the
community wants to be offered.
The issue of classroom size is another
factor that has pushed the district to become strapped for space. The
current high school has no space that meets the requirements of the
state mandates. The state is also requiring districts to offer more
and more classes to students as a requirement for graduation.
Approximately 25 years ago, in the early
1980’s, a student only needed 18 credits to graduate from high school.
The new requirements from the state have pushed that number to 26
credits. Schools are required to offer more classes than ever before.
The issue is very similar at the
elementary level, with the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten grades
being hit the hardest. Too many students have to learn in too small of
a space. Kindergarten students should have classrooms, based on state
standards that have a minimum of 800 square feet. Our students
currently attend class in rooms that have an average of 673 square
feet - which can accommodate only 18 students - but they are currently
occupied by twenty students in each classroom.
While some would say, “just keep your
classes small, and hire more teachers,” the district is running out of
classrooms, even those that are too small, to solve the problem in
such a manner. This solution is also very expensive over the long
term. The average cost of a single teacher is approximately $50,000,
per year.
For the long term fiscal stability of the district, hiring
more personnel to deal with a facility issue will hurt the district
more than it will help.
Question – “A new high school cannot
possibly be constructed during a 2-3 month summer break. How and where
will high school classes be conducted if we are going to tear down the
existing building?”
You are right it is not possible to
construct a new 40,000+ square foot building in just 2-3 months. The
time needed to see that type of project to completion will be
approximately 12-14 months, and that depends on the weather during
construction.
A plan has been developed to have school
during the construction period so that all students in the high school
can go to school on the secondary campus with the least amount of
distraction as possible.
The current high school consists of
thirteen different classrooms and the library. Currently the district
is using a portable building behind the existing high school that will
not be needed next school year, which has two classrooms that are
available. The ag/vocational teachers have graciously agreed to move
their classrooms to the shop during the construction period, which
will then allow their classrooms to be occupied by other teachers
during the project. The building that is currently used for the tax
office and houses the secondary reading program will be reconfigured
to allow three teachers to occupy that space.
There are classrooms that are not used during certain time periods
because those teachers are out of the classroom for other duties and
responsibilities. Those empty rooms will be used by teachers on a
floating basis. The lobby of the new gymnasium can be used for a
classroom by at least one classroom teacher utilizing the tables that
are housed in the lobby on an ongoing basis.
The high school office will be located in
the middle school building in the office space that originally started
out as the principal’s office when the building was shared with the
superintendent.
The counselor for grades 6-12 will be
located, along with student records, in the current distance learning
lab. A new distance learning set-up has recently been installed with a
grant the district has received in a different part of the building,
so any classes that utilize that equipment, college credit classes in
particular, will not be interrupted.
This school year a major project has been
the establishment of a free standing library in the middle school.
This improvement will allow that facility to temporarily serve both
the middle school and the high school during the project. Additional
shelving from the high school will be temporarily relocated to the
middle school library to house those books which will be for the use
of high school students only, as appropriate.
Will this plan be a perfect solution? The
answer to that is simply, “No.” In a situation like this there are no
easy solutions. The good news is that the district and the
administration has been looking at this possibility and has a
tentative plan to implement. That does not mean the plan will not have
to be monitored and changed to fit the given situation. However, that
is what is done daily in the regular course of having school without a
major construction project. The key is to begin with some type of
plan, but be ready to admit when something needs to be adjusted for
the entire system to operate.
“Are we the first school to go through
something like this?” No, many schools have to go through this type of
situation.
Those schools are in communities that care about their
children and are concerned about the quality of their school
facilities. A plan has been developed and the district is ready to
move forward.
Question – “DeLeon's economy has been
suffering in recent years with the loss of the peanut growing and
all. A large portion of our residents are retirees on a very limited
income. How can we possibly afford the new schools?”
For the local taxpayer, this bond issue
WILL NOT result in a tax rate increase. The reason is due to an
increase in state assistance for the local operational school budget
and in receiving state assistance for debt that is incurred for the
construction of school facilities.
The State of Texas has opened a
window of opportunity for schools in Texas such as DeLeon. The
passage of the most recent school finance legislation during last
summer’s special session mandated that the state would begin to pay a
larger portion of the operation portion of a school’s operational
budget. In return, school districts would lower their operational tax
rate as they begin to receive this additional state funding. A part
of this reality was seen in DeLeon this past August, when the DeLeon
ISD Board of Trustees lowered the total tax rate for the district from
$1.36 per $100 of property value to $1.2492.
The district will see this same effect in
the coming budget when the district will again lower its total tax
rate by approximately $0.29, based on current year property values.
The debt service tax rate that will be needed to pay for the new
facilities for the district will be approximately $0.26. This means
that, even with the district incurring new debt, the tax rate for the
coming school year will actually be lowered or decreased again by
$0.0325.
While the tax rate is a trade-off between
the operational tax rate and the debt tax rate of the district, the
total tax rate for the local property owner will be less by $0.0325
than the previous year, and if you compare the tax rate for 2007-2008
to the 2005-2006 tax year, the rate will have decreased by $0.1433.
DeLeon ISD is in a unique position to
take advantage of what the state is doing, and to use it to maximize
and benefit its students and the community of DeLeon. However, there
is another benefit that the district can utilize.
Throughout the history of public
education in the Texas the responsibility of paying for school
facilities has always fallen on the local community. Only since the
mid-1990’s have programs been introduced by the state, which have
shifted some of the burden from the local district to becoming one
that is also being shared by the state.
Beginning in 1999, the state created a
program that has been known as the Existing Debt Allotment. This
program provides state money to school districts to help in making
their annual debt payments for school facilities. The debt that
DeLeon incurred in its last bond election in 1992 has been in this
program since it originated.
Currently, the state is paying $0.42 of
every dollar that the district pays on this debt. The district
receives state funding dedicated for that sole purpose. It is the
receipt of these funds that allows the district to have current debt
tax rate of only $0.0292. If the district did not receive these
state monies, then the debt tax rate for the 1992 Bond would be $0.05,
an increase of just over $.02.
The door is again being opened by the
state for DeLeon to receive this type of state assistance for the
purpose of improving school facilities. The legislature, is currently
meeting to put monies into the state budget for this particular
program. DeLeon qualifies for this program and would receive from the
state approximately $0.43 of state assistance for every dollar of debt
obligation incurred by the district.
In other words, the State of Texas will
become a partner with DeLeon in this project, and will be responsible
for 43%, almost half, of the debt for the project.
If the district did not receive this
assistance, then rather than a tax rate decrease, the local tax payer
would see an increase in their tax rate, compared to the current rate,
by approximately $0.15.
The DeLeon ISD Board of Trustees has
pledged that the only way that they will move forward with this
project is with state assistance and a tax-rate decrease for the local
property owner.
The Board has shown its dedication for
this pledge in allocating from the school district’s reserve funds of
$1,000,000 to be used for these improvements. The total cost for all
of the projects has been projected to be $8.9 million. The Board
intends to use district monies, which have been saved for the specific
purpose of building and improving the facilities of the district, to
help out with these costs.
The use of this money will NOT jeopardize
the financial soundness of the district. The district will continue
to have over $1,000,000 in reserves, an excess of over $200,000 of the
amount the state requires school districts to maintain.
The Board is committed to keeping
the district on strong financial ground. They are diligent in their
responsibilities to the local tax payers in overseeing the actions of
the school’s administration with regards to finance and its effects on
all parties involved.
For those tax payers that have seen their
property taxes frozen due to the Over-65 exemption, their taxes will
not go above the levy. They will also see a proportional decrease in
their total tax bill in relation to the freeze that they may currently
have.
Because this type of scenario will
probably not happen again, it is imperative that DeLeon seize the
opportunity to improve the facilities and the infrastructure of the
community.
There will be no increased burden on the
local taxpayer and in fact, the local tax payer will actually see
their total school tax rate lowered. This situation is a win for the
school district and a win for the local taxpayer.
Above all, it is a much needed win for
the students of DeLeon ISD and the community of DeLeon.
Question – "Why haven't any
improvements to our football stadium and athletic facilities been
included in the bond package?"
This bond issue does not contain any
money for athletics.
Does this mean that the Board or the
administration does not care about these programs and facilities?
Certainly not.
The most recent construction project in
the district was the completion of a new competition gym. It is time
to seize upon the opportunity to make our classrooms the best that
they can be so that students can be successful in the classroom, just
as they have been successful on the athletic field and court.
This bond issue is about providing
quality academic facilities for all of the students of DeLeon. This
bond is about taking care of buildings where the wiring is inadequate
and becoming a hazard. It is about providing classrooms, science labs,
and libraries for learning that meet state standards and will prepare
students to be productive, taxpaying members of this community or
whatever community they might live in when they graduate from DeLeon.
This bond issue is about providing a
learning environment that is safe for all students. It will provide
the necessary alarm and other fire prevention devices, so as parents
we will know that our children are safe when they go off to school
everyday. It will update Perkins Middle School, bringing the building
up to code with fire rated corridors, fire rated hallway doors, and an
alarm system that will allow for a quick evacuation of the building if
necessary.
It is about making our elementary
building more secure by providing for one central entrance and
securing the building with enclosed hallways so that parents do not
have to worry about intruders entering the building. The bond issue is
about giving our kindergarten and pre-kindergarten needed space to
provide them with a strong foundation for their learning. It is about
providing restrooms that meet handicapped accessibility standards and
can be monitored and secured within a building, rather than making
students go outside where supervision is more worrisome.
The bond issue is about providing
learning environments that are properly heated and cooled with
efficient and energy conscious devices. These devices wiil maximize
every dollar available to the district so that they can be used for
instruction and not wasted because of the inefficiency of poor
equipment.
This bond issue is about providing students at the secondary level
with opportunities to learn skills to make them productive members of
the workforce. Even if they do not go to college, we will be providing
them with quality vocational and technological training.
The bond issue is about maximizing every
dollar available for the instruction of students, because the first
duty of schools is to provide a quality education for every student in
DeLeon.
Question – “Why can't this school
construction project be put off for a few years down the road when our
local economy has had time to get better?”
The first reason that waiting is not in
the best interest of the district is cost of the project. Each year
that the district waits to do this project will likely cost the
district approximately $1 million in additional cost that will have to
be added to accomplish what is now being proposed. That means that
instead of doing work on every campus for all of the students of the
district, waiting will mean that some students will not get the same
benefits as others.
The reason that we know that cost are
going up is to look back at the history of school construction over
the last ten years. In 1997 a building constructed similar to what is
being proposed now was costing approximately $62 a square foot. This
cost included all fees that are associated with school construction.
In 2003, that same building was costing $90 a square foot to build. In
budgeting the current project the district has used $125 a square
foot. In ten years the cost to build a school building has doubled.
The reason for this cost increase is due
to several reasons. First, of course, is inflation. Just as it has hit
everything that must be done in the course of business, inflation has
also hit the area of school construction.
Another reason that school construction costs have increased is due to
the increase in the number of building codes that have now come into
existence that must be followed. New requirements have come in about
the area of air quality, energy conservation, and building standards
that have pushed construction costs up. On the horizon are more new
building codes that will require buildings to become even more energy
efficient and meet new standards for “green” buildings. All of these
requirements will push the cost of building schools even higher, and
may increase subsequent operating costs as well.
The other cause for the rising costs that
has to be acknowledged is the increased demand for building materials.
The world economy is moving at a rate that is causing the building
materials market to see pressure that has caused prices to rise
sharply. While some people will blame the hurricanes of 2005 others
say that the building boom that is being seen in the far east in India
and China is the factor, the result has been a constant rising of
prices for the materials used to build schools.
Unfortunately, once the cost of
construction goes up, it does not go down.
The State of Texas has also recently
given school districts a unique opportunity. For the first time in the
history of public education in Texas, school districts have the
opportunity to actually lower their total tax rate and, at the same
time, issue debt for the purpose of constructing schools. The
compression of the local tax rate allows a tax payer to see their
total school tax rate decreased, compared to the rate that was adopted
by the school board in the previous year.
Why does this matter? The importance of
this is that a local property owner will not see an increase in their
school tax bill for the coming school year when compared to the rate
that was charged this previous year. Typically, when a school district
passes a bond issue, the local taxpayer will see an increase in their
school property tax bill. This time, however the taxpayer will not
experience an increase in additional out of pocket expense for the
students of the district to have improved school facilities. What a
taxpayer is paying is what they will have to pay, and with the tax
rate actually being decreased by $0.0325, they should see a lower tax
bill.
The other reason that now is the time is
due to the state funding that will be available. The State of Texas
and its Existing Debt Allotment means that the state will pay 43% of
the district’s annual bond payment. The only way that the district can
access these funds is to issue debt.
If the district does not have debt that
can't be enrolled with this program, those state monies will be to
another district.
The amount of money that is being made
available is significant. Rather the district having an annual bond
payment of $615,000, the district would only be paying $382,000. The
state would be contributing $238,000 each year for the life of the
bond.
Why would DeLeon leave this kind of money
on the table?
Another way to think about it is that
rather than having to pay $125 per square foot, the district would
only have to pay $66.25 per square foot.
No additional out-of-pocket for the local
taxpayer, and the
State of Texas being a
major player
in paying for
school facilities
in DeLeon,
makes this the time to seize the
opportunity before the cost of construction makes these projects no
longer a realistic posibility for the students of DeLeon ISD.
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