Ector County ISD Bond Advisory Committee members Priscilla Hernandez, Ronnie Neal and student Kevin Camacho offered recommendations for a bond package at the ECISD Board of Trustees workshop Tuesday.
Before that during the public comment section of the meeting, bond committee member Jeff Russell expressed disappointment with the way it turned out. He said he was surprised that the committee was presenting Tuesday night and wanted to know who was making the presentation.
Russell, who has served on three bond committees, said he didn’t remember the committee “coming to a lot of finalization” of the work they were doing.
“I think overall the committee could have been a lot more successful if they’d had a little bit more string to work with,” Russell said.
The consensus was to propose a bond of just under $400 million including a state-of-the-art career and technical education center for $80 million; a new middle school for $120 million; priority 1 maintenance items at $51 million; and $79 million in priority 2 maintenance items.
This would be done without raising taxes, Superintendent Scott Muri has said.
“This notion of doing a $400 million bond with no tax increase, I couldn’t quite wrap my brain around it. I looked at the numbers and dug through the budget and tax notices thinking about what $400 million in additional debt would mean to the district,” Russell said.
Chief Financial Officer Deborah Ottmers said ECISD still has $107 million in debt service to pay.
Russell added that over the past two years the interest and sinking (debt service) rate has gone up as the tax rate has been compressed.
The current total tax rate is $1.17792 per $100 valuation. Ottmers said they will recommend the tax rate stay the same.
Russell said he believes everyone on the committee was trying “to do their very best to guide” the district to the decisions that needed to be made.
Committee member Tim Harry wanted to yield his time to Russell, but the board wouldn’t let him and Harry said he didn’t want to speak.
Position 1 trustee Dawn Miller said the concept of passing a bond without raising taxes has to be broken down like you’re talking to a child and presented at every staff meeting, community center and block party.
Neal, a teacher and history department chair at Wilson & Young Middle School, Hernandez, a Crockett Middle School sixth-grade art teacher, and Camacho, who will be a senior at OCTECHS, gave the presentation.
Neal said there were more than $500 million in must needs. At his campus Wilson and Young, he said there are 1,250 students and classrooms of 40 to 60 students.
The boys have two working bathrooms out of four and the girls have four working bathrooms.
Hernandez, a mother of four children, said her top priority was career and technical education and her second was fine arts.
“Our groups picked out what was most important to us and then went to other tables to see what was more important to them,” Hernandez said.
Various bond packages ranged from $396,000,000 to $420,500,000 to $638,050,000.
Muri said between now and Aug. 21, the board will deliberate the bond. If the board is going to call a November election they have to do it by Aug. 21.
Javier Ruiz, president of the Ector County TSTA/NEA, urged the board to increase compensation despite the Texas legislature not doing anything on public education finance.
Midland ISD increased starting pay for teachers to $60,500 and bus drivers to $25 an hour.
Ruiz said MISD is ECISD’s largest competitor and he urged ECISD to beat them.
“We must do everything possible to attract and retain people while keeping them in Ector County,” Ruiz said.
The meeting also included a budget discussion.
Muri said the message from the state is that there are no raises for teachers or employees.
“We tonight are going to take a risk. The risk is for the 33,000 kids who attend these schools and the 4,200 employees who work in this district,” he said.
His recommendation was to increase salaries even though it will run the district into a deficit.
Muri said the basic allotment paid per student of $6,111 hasn’t changed in four years. On Monday, the state House announced a committee that is going to look at education funding and expenditures. They will meet throughout the summer and make a recommendation to the House in August.
Muri said the governor “is going to have to call a special session on funding.” Until then, “what we have is what we have.”
ECISD has to approve a budget before July 1.
“We cannot lose people in this organization …,” Muri said.
A salary study by the Texas Association of School Boards recommended a 3 percent increase for all campus and central office professionals; starting salary for new teachers at $60,600; and a 3-percent increase for hourly employees.
All central office staff shall be included in a 3 percent increase of the new midpoint of their pay grade.
There are additional areas for compensation in 2023-24 such as stipends, supplemental pay and a principal incentive, which is in the works.
Associate Superintendent-Athletics, Human Capital & Operations Anthony Sorola said the raise is about $2,000 a year for teachers.
Position 7 trustee Bob Thayer asked if they could segment the raises so classroom teachers would get more money and central office would get less.
Anticipated total revenue for 2022-23 is $319,895,612. But anticipated expenditures are $330,050,000. Ottmers said they anticipate using $10 million of fund balance to make up the difference.
Estimated expenditures for 2023-24 are $345,173,500 with a deficit of $13,920,249 that will come out of fund balance.
The anticipated fund balance at end of this year is $100,495,046.
For 2023-24, it is anticipated it will be $86,574,997. Ottmers said that is 90 days of operating expenditures which is the recommended amount, Ottmers said.
The board also hired Dora Flores as principal of Burleson Elementary; Angelina Hilton as principal of Downing Elementary; Executive Director of Special Services Mark Gabrylczyk; Executive Director of District Operations Sam Magellan; and Amy Hosick, executive director of choice programs, access and support.
The board also reorganized to make Chris Stanley president; Delma Abalos, vice president; and Tammy Hawkins, secretary.
