Austin ISD details $2.2B bond proposal for school upgrades

AUSTIN, Texas - Austinites got a first look Tuesday night at a massive bond proposal from Austin ISD, aimed at modernizing schools and making them safer. In fact, this is the largest bond item ever put forward by the school district.

Residents who logged into the Bond Steering Committee meeting were presented with two options to upgrade city schools.

Draft Bond Proposal "A" would cost approximately $1.55 billion, and result in no tax increase. Draft Bond Proposal "B" would cost about $2.18 billion, with a 1-cent tax increase.

"We want everything for our kids, but only have so many resources, so tonight we get a chance to talk through two of the bond proposals and talk about how we can stretch those dollars," said AISD Interim Superintendent Anthony Mays.

"A school bond, of course, must be approved by a majority of voters," said AISD Chief Financial Officer Ed Ramos.

A focal point of both versions of the proposal are safety upgrades, something many parents have called for in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting. Schools city-wide would get new "secure entry vestibules, life safety systems and other security measures."

"Vestibules are a very good way of improving security," said AISD Operations Officer Matias Segura. "So that anybody that comes in who isn't a student has to go to an administrative space can't go into student space without going through double security."

The plans also call for big modernization projects like $280 million (Proposals "A" & "B" amount) to revamp Travis High School, $160 million (Proposals "B" amount) to upgrade Burnet Middle School, $128 million (Proposal "B" amount) to modernize Northeast Early College High School, and $105 million (Proposals "A" & "B" amount) for Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy.

Several elementary schools are also slated to be modernized, including Linder, Houston, Oak Springs, Pecan Springs, Barrington, Harris, Wooldridge, Allison, Andrews and Langford.

"We're trying to invest in communities, to promote these schools to the best of our abilities," said Segura.

Both versions would also replace school buses, including air conditioning on all buses, and improvements to fine arts programs.  

A highlight of the pricier option is $50 million for housing for teachers, which would be built by repurposing district-owned property that is either under-utilized or vacant like the former Pease Elementary.

"The folks that are working for us are having challenges securing housing in Austin, but we have tools to impact that in a positive way," said Segura.

Tuesday night’s meeting was one of four "community conversations" happening this week on this issue. Following is the information for the remaining meetings:

• July 14: Virtual-only  6 – 8 p.m. Zoom link
• 6 – 8 p.m.
• Zoom link
• July 16: Dobie Middle School 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. 1200 E. Rundberg Lane, Austin, TX 78753
• 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
• 1200 E. Rundberg Lane, Austin, TX 78753
• July 16: Travis Early College High School 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. 1211 E Oltorf St, Austin, TX 78704
• 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
• 1211 E Oltorf St, Austin, TX 78704

The school board will have to approve one of the options this summer before it goes to voters in November.