Clear Creek Independent School District Trustees are discussing the possibility of placing a $214 million bond on the May 2025 ballot.
During Monday evening’s workshop, trustee discussions centered on a proposed bond that would allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild aging campuses and purchase new land—raising questions about the district’s approach to prioritizing these substantial expenses.
According to the recommendation, nearly $200 million of the bond will be allocated to completely rebuild three primary campuses: Seabrook Intermediate, originally constructed in 1967; Armand Bayou Elementary, built in 1974; and Greene Elementary, built in 1976. This section will, however, utilize existing funds from the 2023 bond, which amounted to just over $15 million, thereby reducing the rebuilding cost from the new bond to slightly more than $181 million.
An additional $5 million will be designated for new land for Westside Intermediate. Another $19.5 million will be allocated for bus replacements, just over $5 million will be used to enhance restroom safety in secondary schools, and $2.5 million will be dedicated to reimbursing the Clear Lake High School Culinary Arts program.
Although the total cost of all projects is $229 million, using $15 million from the 2023 bond reduces the total cost to $214 million. The projected maximum tax rate increase would add 4.2 cents per $100 of taxable value, resulting in an additional $110 per year for the average home in the district.
According to Alice Benzaia, the Chief Financial Officer for CCISD, the potential tax rate increase is primarily due to the lack of property value growth in the district.
“Taxpayers are going to ask whether these projects are needs or wants, and if we can’t honestly say the district needs these rebuilds to maintain educational quality for students, they should wait,” Clear Creek ISD Trustee Scott Bowen told Texas Scorecard.
“The two elementary school projects and new buses are strongly justified, and I’d support a bond limited to those,” said Bowen. “I don’t believe the case has been made for the Seabrook Intermediate rebuild.”
The board is scheduled to reconvene to continue discussing the bond proposal on January 27, just weeks ahead of the February 14 deadline to place it on the May 2025 ballot.
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