East Central ISD is asking local voters to approve a tax increase and three bond issues to help the district upgrade aged sports facilities and build new school facilities as it grapples with exploding enrollment, which is expected to double in the next eight years.
All the changes could result in an expanded property tax bill, if passed.
The district’s 11,176 student enrollment is expected to grow to 25,617 by 2033.
The swelling numbers are the opposite of those of other regional districts, which are considering or have already closed campuses to account for the declines.
In a district newsletter, Roland Toscano, the district’s superintendent, said that the community has the chance to vote now “while it remains cost-effective for taxpayers, especially with rising escalation costs over time.”
In other words, without the passage of the bonds, projects could increase in cost by 10% every year if delayed, adding millions, the district said.
Bond issues would bolster growth that has already been happening in the district, according to East Central ISD.
On a San Antonio Report panel last year, Toscano pointed to the explosion of affordable housing in the area.
“The development that we’re seeing out here is massive, such that we’ll be doubling in size within the decade,” Toscano said at the time. “We’re 1,000 students up from last year … and we’re projected to be between 19,000 and 20,000 by 2030.”
At the time, Toscano said the district was at or nearing 100% capacity in all facilities — compared with around 50% of capacity being used at Edgewood and San Antonio ISDs.
So what exactly will voters be deciding?
Proposition A
The first proposition on the ballot is a tax increase for homeowners within the district of five cents for every $100 of property value, unlocking an additional $6,600,000 for the district to use.
In explainers sent to parents, the district said the funds would be used to make teacher pay more competitive and to fund armed security officers at each campus to comply with a new state law.
Every homeowner in the district’s taxbase would be affected by the property tax increase, not just those with children at the schools.
East Central noted in the letter to parents that it is the area’s largest employer and committed to raising pay for 1,700 staff members with the funds. It also notes that it has among the lowest tax rates among other San Antonio area districts, which has limited the district’s ability to give raises.
Other funding would be used for security upgrades like cameras, perimeter fencing, bullet-resistant film, mental health first aid training, campus radios, PA system upgrades, AEDs, Stop the Bleed kits and Epinephrine Pens.
Proposition B
The second proposition asks for $331,143,000, which will be added to property tax bills, to fund three new schools and renovations across the district to relieve enrollment pressure and fix older buildings.
The district is anticipating adding an additional 14,000 students in the next 8 years.
Officials say a planned 396,000 sq. foot high school facility will have a total student capacity of 2,200 and a useful lifespan of 50 years.
Current facilities are cramped to the point that “we are on top of each other with everything we do; department to department, class to class,” according to Warren Mize, the Director of Patterson Performing Arts.
While the enrollment at the district’s only current comprehensive high school, East Central High School, has increased by around 300 students in each of the last two years, the growth is not limited to older students.
The bond funds would also be used to construct two new elementary schools to “relieve enrollment pressure in the northern and southern portions of the district.”
Each elementary school will be a 98,000-sq. foot facility that can house up to 900 students and will have a 50-year lifespan, according to the district.
Other funds will go toward high school facilities like converting the old practice gym into a new, second PE gym and renovating and adding to the Agriscience facility at the high school.
Proposition C
East Central ISD sports facilities have grown out of date over the years and become inaccessible and, in some cases, dangerous, according to the district.
So the district is asking voters for $10,000,000 to renovate Hornet Stadium, which was last renovated in 1982, leaving the current stadium unsafe, non-ADA compliant and inaccessible to all users.
The former press box was condemned and removed in June, and the bleachers haven’t been updated or renovated since 1982. According to the district, a recent facilities report deemed them unsafe.
Proposition D
The district has identified similar issues with the high school’s tennis and baseball facilities, which East Central plans to replace using $18,857,000 if voters approve the final proposition.
Planned baseball field renovations include installing turf to resolve drainage areas of the natural grass, new lighting, fan restrooms, increased seating and upgraded ADA accessibility.
Other bond projects in Prop D include replacing cracked, deteriorating and unsafe tennis courts with new facilities, adding LED lighting and relocating and renovating the softball field.
Tennis coach Tony Ramos said in district materials that the tennis courts have been deteriorating for years.
“We have wheelchair spectators who come, and it’s very difficult for them to navigate,” softball coach Maggi Welham said in a district newsletter. “Our parking area is more than half a mile away, and we don’t have a storage facility for player equipment, bags, and other items to keep here at the field.”
