This week’s meeting of the College Station school board included three purchases from the bond issue approved by voters in November 2013.
Superintendent Clark Ealy says that includes the district’s new purchasing and warehouse center, which will be built next to the transportation center. The price tag, nearly $7 million dollars, is $510,485 under the project estimate.
The board also approved another $1.3 million dollars from bond money to buy 1,500 desktop computers around the district and furniture at the new Spring Creek elementary.
Dr. Ealy says recent rainfall has put a slight construction delay at Spring Creek, but nothing to prevent CSISD’s ninth elementary from opening as scheduled in August. Most of the work is under the roof and all the concrete has been poured.
The board approved refinancing more than $47 million dollars of existing bond financing, which could result in interest savings to CSISD of $4.5 million.
The board also adopted a resolution supporting Texas A&M’s effort to sponsor a presidential or vice-presidential debate next year.
The board workshop included a review of the first two meetings of the community committee developing recommendations for a bond issue this November.
The workshop also included the first look at the proposed budget for the 2015-16 school years. Dr. Ealy said revenue projections were based on a 4% enrollment increase and a 4% property value increase. Early budget projections show an approximate $3.7 million deficit for the 2015-16 school year, which would be covered by the district’s roughly $30 million fund balance. The board is scheduled to take final action on the budget and tax rate in August.
Click below for comments from Clark Ealy, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver.