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  • A bond is similar to a home mortgage. It is a contract to repay borrowed money with interest over time. Bonds are sold by a school district to competing lenders to raise funds to pay for the costs of construction, renovations, and equipment. Most school districts in Texas utilize bonds to finance renovations and new facilities.

     

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  • Bond funds can be used to pay for new buildings, additions and renovations to existing facilities, land acquisition, technology infrastructure, transportation costs and vehicles, and equipment for new or existing buildings. Bonds cannot be used for salaries or operating costs such as utility bills, supplies, building maintenance, fuel and insurance. SSISD’s May 2024 bond proposal includes funds to purchase land for a new school site, design and construct two new (K-5) elementary schools, and renovate Bush, Douglass, and Bowie. 

     

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  • School districts are required by state law to ask voters for permission to sell bonds to investors in order to raise the capital dollars required for projects such as building a new school. Essentially, the voters are giving permission for the district to take out a loan and pay that loan back over an extended period of time, much like a family takes out a mortgage loan for their home. A school board calls a bond election so voters can decide whether they want to pay for proposed projects.

     

    SSISD’s May 2024 bond would generate funding to replace some of the oldest campuses, create new or renovated learning spaces for approximately have of the existing student population, be prepared for future enrollment, and create the desired K-5 elementary schools.

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  • Development of the bond proposal was an in-depth process of information gathering, research, and community input. The proposal to construct two new schools now – instead of waiting when construction will be more expensive – was developed by committee members and vetted by architects, contractors, and financial advisors. The district’s Bond Planning Committee met several times in 2023 and landed on three main priorities:

     

    1. Address aging conditions at the primary and elementary level
    2. Plan for growth
    3. Create safe, modern learning spaces for ALL elementary students

     

    During the Bond Planning Meetings, the committee discussed past bond proposals, studied district finances and tax impact scenarios, toured campuses, and debated many aspects of long-term facility needs before making a recommendation to the Board of Trustees. Following the committee’s recommendation, the Board voted unanimously to call for a May 2024 bond election.

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  • SSISD will schedule projects over the next several years and will communicate timelines and updates to the community throughout the life of the projects.

     

    The project budgets that were developed for the two new elementary schools assumes this timeline: Design to begin following a voter-approved election in May 2024 Construction to begin in the summer of 2025 New schools could potentially open in 2027

    This proposal was designed to issue bonds in increments over time. The renovation projects would be scheduled as quickly as possible, staying within the district’s capacity to sell bonds and effectively manage all the projects. 

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  • The May 2024 bond is designed to focus on elementary schools. If additional capital projects are needed and/or renovations are identified for the middle school and/or high schools, SSISD would re-engage its citizens committee to determine the best plan to address future needs, which could include a future bond referendum. The 2023 Bond Planning Committee considered a possible future bond in 2030 or 2031, but those discussions were part of the long-range visioning process. No decisions about future bonds have been made at this time.   

     

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  • Anyone who is a registered voter and resides in the SSISD boundaries is eligible to vote in the May 2024 bond election. Check your voter registration status at VoteTexas.gov. 

     

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  • The total bond amount for all projects is $157,150,000.

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  • Based on Taxable Assessed Values and paying off previous debt early, SSISD can issue the $157.15 million worth of bonds with a fourth of a penny increase (per $100 home value) to the Interest and Sinking tax rate. Read more on the Tax Information page. 

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  • No. There is no relationship between the tax rate and the assessed value of homes. The school district is not involved in assessing home values or home appraisals.

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  • Your SSISD taxes will not increase. Residents 65 and over are eligible for an “over 65” exemption. If you have applied for and received the age 65 and older exemption on your homestead, by law, your school taxes cannot be raised above the tax ceiling, which is the amount of taxes you paid at the time your taxes were frozen.

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  • The Comptroller website has a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

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  • It will be several months before we have renderings of the new elementary schools. Following voter approval on the bond, SSISD would engage school architects to begin the design process that would involve campus staff and possibly some students. It’s important for staff to have input throughout the visioning and programming phases.

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  • No. Instead of paying architects now to design projects that haven’t yet been approved by the community, SSISD officials are waiting until the results of the election are known. Architects have been involved in vetting the feasibility of constructing a new school on the existing site of SSES and ensuring project budgets were created with appropriate square footage, permitting fees, equipment, escalation, contingency, etc. 

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  • We are obligated to follow the Professional Services Procurement Act when selecting bond underwriters, which requires the provider of the service to be selected based on demonstrated competence and qualifications to perform the services and for a fair and reasonable price. The District's Financial Advisor advises the district on the structure of the bonds. Bond underwriters would be chosen after the bond passes. Depending on market conditions and amount of sale, all three sale methods of competitive, private placement, and negotiated will be considered. 

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  • New Campus 1 would be built adjacent to the current site of Sulphur Springs Elementary. After the completion of New Campus 1, the current SSES would be retired. Because the district does not currently own another site large enough for the requirements of a new school, the land would be acquired for New Campus 2 which is proposed to be named Rowena Johnson Elementary. The acquisition process would begin with the passing of the bond.  Once both campuses are built, students would transition to K-5 configuration at New Campus 1 (SSES), and New Campus 2, (proposed to be named Rowena Johnson Elementary), and Barbara Bush Elementary.   

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  • The SASI and NCSI Programs are available to state education agencies.  Sulphur Springs ISD is a local education agency, therefore does not qualify. 

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  • We currently have Bowie Primary, Travis Primary, Rowena Johnson Primary, and Barbara Bush Primary which are our four K-3 campuses. Sulphur Springs Elementary is our one 4-5 campus. These are the five schools that house our K-5 students. If the bond passes, all of our K-5 students would transition to the two new campuses and Barbara Bush. Each of the three campuses would be K-5. 

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  • The Bowie campus would be used for Special Programs offices which are currently housed at the Barbara Bush campus. 

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  • The old track located next to SSES will be affected with the new build. This property is the only property owned by SSISD that is large enough to accommodate a new campus. The committee decided that using this land would be the best financial scenario because it would save the District and the taxpayers millions of dollars. Since the old SSES building would be removed after the new building is complete, there would still be green space on the property for sports leagues and the community to use.  

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  • This bond proposal only includes one elementary school on that site. The new building would replace the current Sulphur Springs Elementary School.  

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