Klein ISD eyes $498.1 bond for May ballot

New elementary and intermediate schools, a new high school and a pre-kindergarten center are the biggest components of a draft bond package presented to the trustees of Klein Independent School District this week, as the fast-growing district in north Harris County nears the end of a year-long process to put a bond measure on the May ballot.

Klein ISD superintendent Jim Cain presented the $498.1 million draft bond package to the board at its meeting Monday evening. While he emphasized that the number could still be changed between now and mid-January, when the board is expected to officially set the election, Monday's presentation was the culmination of months of planning among district officials, local business leaders, parents and other community members.

"We feel like this represents a very good bond package, a very tight bond package," Cain told the board. "Between now and our January board meeting, we will continue to look at this. I'd be pleased to receive input from board of trustees."

The district currently has 49,500 students, according to the latest data from the Texas Education Agency, making it the eighth-largest school district in the Houston area and the 20th-largest in Texas. Klein's student population is growing and is expected to continue to grow at a fast pace because of familiar factors: a surging Houston-area economy, Exxon Mobil's new corporate campus and the Grand Parkway expansion.

If the board calls the election, Klein would join several other school districts that are seeking money to accommodate growth. Voters in Katy's and Fort Bend County's school districts passed bond measures in November, and Conroe ISD is planning a referendum for November 2015.

Cain projected that the debt from Klein's planned 2015 referendum and the leftover parts of the previous referendum, passed by voters in 2008, would bump the school district's tax rate up 10 cents at the most over the next eight years, which would raise it from the current $1.39 to $1.49 per $100 dollars of property valuation.

The board voted in October to reduce the district's tax rate from $1.43 to $1.39 per $100 of property valuation.

The bond steering committee initially looked at more than $700 million worth of needs, but began to pare that down after concluding that the tax burden would have been too great, Cain said.

"There was a right-sizing that was completed toward the end that in no way will put the Klein taxpayer under undue pressure," said Nancy Radcliffe, one of the chairs of the Klein bond steering committee.

The final amount, $498.1 million, represents "needs" not "wants," Cain said.

The biggest part of those needs is almost $280 million in new construction, which, in addition to the new schools and pre-kindergarten center, includes several classroom additions, new gymnasiums, an agricultural science center and new land, according to figures provided by the district.

About $134 million is allocated for repairs and renovations of current facilities and $50 million for technology, including instructional and classroom equipment and keeping the district's laptop program running. Another $18 million is being set aside for safety and security upgrades, and almost $8 million would be allocated for buying and replacing school buses.

The remainder of the bond is largely for administrative costs.

Fred Blanton, who runs Spring's tea party group and sits on the steering committee, said that while he supported Klein ISD's efforts to keep up its academic program, he was concerned about the tax burden that the bond would place on residents in the district, especially as valuations continue to rise with development. To raise revenue, he said the district needed to look at consolidating food services and school infrastructure, as well as selling advertising on buses or naming rights to school facilities.

"We need to keep the nose of the plane in the air, but we've got to find a way of changing the tires cheaper, changing the oil cheaper," Blanton said. "We've got to find a way of cleaning the cabin for less money."