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Perryton ISD board hears explanation of field house budget overrun; bus lane cited as main addition
Summary
Superintendent told the Perryton ISD board confusion over bond accounting for Proposition A and B helped cause public concern about a reported $400,000 overage; the superintendent said the bus lane and added parking — not furniture budgets — primarily drove the overrun and that interest earnings could cover the excess.
The Perryton ISD superintendent explained to the board that a recent report of a large cost overrun on the district’s field house stems largely from accounting differences between bond funds designated as Proposition A and Proposition B and from adding a bus lane and parking to the project.
“The only budget money that we ended up being over in the field house was for the bus lane,” the superintendent said, adding that furniture and equipment had been budgeted in the Proposition A pot while the field house construction had been tracked to Proposition B. “The money that we are gonna be spending that is over the 4.9 is coming out of the interest that we’ve earned.”
The superintendent told trustees that the district’s initial understanding at the time the contract and designs were prepared was that equipment and furniture would be paid from the same pot as construction. Contractors and bond administrators, however, allocated furniture and equipment to Proposition A and construction to Proposition B. That mismatch, the superintendent said, produced confusion when trustees and the public later compared line items.
Board members pressed for detail during the discussion. One board member said they had voted against the most recent change because they believed the total overage exceeded $400,000 and that the added west-side parking pushed the figure up; the superintendent and other trustees disputed the precise totals and said the core overrun attributable to the bus lane was about $180,000 as discussed at the meeting.
The superintendent acknowledged the complexity and public confusion and said the board has the authority to spend interest earned on bond proceeds to cover the increased costs. Trustees discussed that the district had agreed to include parking and a bus lane based on community expectations and election materials; the superintendent said the flyer used in the bond election included parking, which added to confusion about what had been promised and what was originally budgeted.
No formal vote to reallocate funds was recorded during the public portion of the meeting; the superintendent said staff will continue reviewing and clarifying the budgets and will return with more detail for the board to consider.
The board’s discussion follows public attention and media questions about whether furniture costs or other items caused the field house figures to exceed the estimates. The superintendent urged patience, committed to producing clearer budget sheets, and said the board’s priority remains delivering the project while getting the “most bang for our buck” for taxpayers.
