Information for the 2022 Ector County ISD bond issue is now “active” and district leaders have been out in the community telling people about it.
During his media call Wednesday, Superintendent Scott Muri said one question the district has been getting is why $137 million is needed in the bond for lifecycle, maintenance and repair of items on the campuses.
One reason, Muri said, is the age of the schools. There are 43 campuses and 31 are over 61 years old.
“That’s over half of our schools, and as our buildings get older many of the parts and pieces of those buildings, if you will, their lifecycle expires. For instance their HVAC systems have a certain life expectancy and while we do maintain and repair them along life’s journey, at some point they wear out and they’re no longer able to be repaired and must be replaced,” Muri said.
He added that this not only applies to HVAC systems, but electrical, plumbing and other fixtures in the schools that have reached their life expectancy.
“The bond provides for the lifecycle repairs and replacements of many of those items, and especially in the 31 schools that we have that are 61 years of age and older. In addition to that, the district has also been able to expend additional dollars in the maintenance of those items in the last several years,” he added.
In 2018, voters passed a tax ratification election. Part of that commitment that the district made to the community at that time was that they would invest a portion of those dollars to the continued maintenance of facilities.
“Because of the passage of the TRE (Tax Ratification Election), we were actually able to add almost $1 million to our lifecycle repair and maintenance efforts and we have been doing that since the passage of the tax ratification election in 2018,” Muri said.
“Our budget reflects that almost $1 million increase and the work …,” he said.
On a separate item, Muri said this is a long weekend so schools will be closed Friday and Monday.
The district also is busy looking for 3- and 4-year-olds for its prekindergarten program.
“We are currently serving almost 1,800 students ages 3 and 4,” Muri said. “We would like to see over 2,000 students next year …”
Parents can register on the ECISD website, or visit one of the schools to register and get more information.
“We also wish to extend gratitude to our partner in this effort. The YMCA of Odessa partnered with ECISD last year to ensure that we were effectively able to meet the needs of our 3-year-olds. We didn’t have the capacity as an organization to meet their needs, so in conjunction with the YMCA we were able to able offer a prek for both 3- and 4-year-olds,” Muri said.
“This year, we noticed our kindergarten readiness numbers increased by 13 percent and that is a direct result of transitioning our half-day prek to a full-day prek program. So once again, that is a wise investment our board of trustees has made and it’s beginning to pay dividends in the lives of our children. Registration is now open for next year’s class,” he added.
Election information
- The election for the $398,255,000 bond is scheduled for May 7 and early voting starts April 25.
- Proposition A for $215,255,000 would include maintenance and life-cycle repairs/replacement for school district buildings for $130,255,000; a new Career and Technical Education Center ($70 million); and classroom technology upgrades ($15).
- Proposition B includes a new high school for $183,000,000. The high school would be designed for 2,500 to 2,800 students and enclose 400,000 square feet. It would be built on 100 acres at Yukon and Faudree roads. The district purchased it in 2015 for a little more than 2 million.
- Early voting runs April 25 through May 3 at the Ector County Courthouse Annex, 1010 E. Eighth St. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 7.
