Deer Park ISD reviews capital-project priorities and transportation facility concerns ahead of potential levy

Deer Park ISD board members reviewed the facilities advisory committee's capital‑project priorities and discussed pursuing a four‑year capital levy to fund top projects, while several members raised concerns about how advisory committees were structured and whether transportation and driver safety had been fully addressed.

A staff or board presenter said the facilities advisory committee established the district's capital priorities and that the board is considering a four‑year capital measure to ensure funding to complete the district's top three projects. The speaker listed three priorities in the meeting transcript: "1, losing the land in the road. 2, transportation center. And 3, we are looking at our key and then district state needs," and also named school‑level work such as roofs, gym HVAC, fencing, flooring, and district safety upgrades including phones, intercoms and internet.

The presenter said a November levy figure was being discussed in the meeting as "the dollar 45, the dollar 50 in November" (transcript phrasing); the transcript does not record an official levy amount or finalized ballot language. The board said it will take recommendations from the Facilities Advisory Committee to the full board for a policy action at a future meeting.

Several board members criticized how advisory groups had been run in prior committees. One board member said the transportation committee and facilities committee options were largely framed by district leadership rather than developed independently by committee members, and another member called for stronger focus on drivers' safety and the condition of the drivers' facility, saying the facility has been in poor condition "20 plus years." A speaker said they had contacted the county commissioner as a private citizen to raise road and driver‑safety concerns after feeling the district did not address them.

The board chair reiterated the Facilities Advisory Committee's role: the committee makes recommendations to the board, and the board will make final decisions and should present a unified position rather than individual board members acting independently.

Ending: The board asked staff to finalize dates and bring facilities protocols and the committee's recommendations back to the board for policy consideration at an upcoming meeting; no binding funding decision or levy ballot measure was authorized in the public record during this session.