El Campo ISD to seek voter approval for $80.9 million bond; trustees approve outreach and extended early voting

The El Campo Independent School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a bond proposition to appear on the May ballot that would authorize issuance of up to $80,905,000 to fund construction, acquisition and equipment of school buildings in the district.

Board members heard a financial presentation that used conservative assumptions — a 2% projected district growth rate and a 4.5% interest-rate assumption for planning — and were told the district expects to stagger bond sales over two or three years. Lewis Wilkes, the district's financial consultant, said, "What we're using in our numbers is 4 and a half percent because we think it's a little conservative. We'd like to be conservative in our numbers." He added that if the district sold bonds today it would likely be closer to 4 percent, and that timing of any sale would depend on market rates after the election.

Diane, serving as bond counsel for the district, said the election order prepared for the proposition "authorizes the district to contract with Wharton County for election services," and noted the order also handles required publication and posting steps ahead of the election.

Nico Allen of Park Hill, which advised the citizens committee, said the bond program was shaped by a citizens committee and addresses its top priorities. "The top 2 priorities that kept coming out in the process are addressed in your bond program," Allen said, identifying career and technical education and improvements at Hutchins, along with safety and security upgrades.

Trustees also approved a contract amendment with Park Hill for distribution of factual information about the bond proposal and unanimously authorized the superintendent to request extended early voting hours (extended to 7 a.m.–7 p.m. for certain days) and an additional polling location at a district facility from Wharton County; the district will be responsible for any additional costs associated with added locations or extended hours. The board discussed potential early voting dates in April, noting an additional Friday and Saturday (April 25–26) as the days to request from the county.

Board members emphasized that the district's projection assumes the tax rate would not rise because the bond would extend the length of the tax rather than increase the tax rate; staff said that tax-rate and affordability projections were included in the packet but that final outcomes will depend on actual market rates and sale timing. Trustees voted to place the proposition on the ballot and approved the related professional-services amendment and voting-hour requests by unanimous voice/hand votes; no roll-call tallies were provided in the transcript.

Next steps identified at the meeting include finalizing the election order, coordinating with Wharton County on logistics and publishing voter-education materials to inform the public ahead of the May election.