Stafford trustees, city council call $150 million school bond for voter approval

The Stafford Municipal School District board of trustees and the City of Stafford voted Monday to place a $150 million school building bond before voters, splitting the request into four propositions covering general education projects, refunding maintenance tax notes, stadium facilities and technology.

Board members approved a school resolution calling the election—proposition A, $113,350,000; proposition B, $5,250,000; proposition C, $21,400,000; and proposition D, $10,000,000—by a 7–0 vote. The city council then approved a companion ordinance calling the election. Both bodies said the measure would go to voters only if the final legal and procedural steps are completed.

The bond package comes after a long-range facilities review and public engagement process that officials said involved a 71-person long-range planning and key-communicator group and months of work by outside consultants. Dr. Bostick, who led the presentation for the district, said the initial comprehensive needs assessment totaled about $214 million before the district and community prioritized and reduced the package. “So that's where we get to where we're at today at a hundred and $50,000,000 that consists of 4 propositions that are essential to accomplishing our mission and our goals to position SMSD, our community, and our students to be successful,” he said.

The four propositions are described as follows in the district’s draft ballot language read aloud by bond counsel Marcus Deetz: proposition…