Brownsville ISD citizens committee recommends $350 million bond package, highlights CTE center, roofing and bus replacements

The Brownsville ISD Citizens Facility Committee on the final report presentation delivered a prioritized list of facility projects and funding recommendations the committee says should guide any bond election. Committee co-chair Rusty Brochaux and co-chair Henry Laviere presented the committee’s findings and estimated costs, and subcommittee chairs reviewed needs across elementary, secondary and districtwide facilities.

The committee recommended a general-purpose bond package of about $350,000,000 to address what it called the district’s most urgent capital needs while maintaining the district’s current debt tax rate. "This report to me is very important because it's an investment in our assets," said Henry Laviere, co-chair of the Citizens Facility Committee. The finance subcommittee told trustees the committee designed the $350 million figure so, if pursued as outlined, the district’s debt tax rate would remain effectively unchanged at the time of the estimate.

The committee presented a long list of projects and several cost estimates that together exceed the initial bond figure. The finance subcommittee said the committee priced more than 100 items and compiled a larger set of more than 200 assessments; when fully priced the total estimate reached roughly $670,000,000, with additional items still needing pricing. The committee emphasized the $350 million package should be treated as a prioritized minimum set of projects for a bond issuance.

Key recommendations and cost estimates

- Career and technical education (CTE) center: The committee recommends setting aside about $25,000,000 toward construction of a new CTE center. The feasibility study by Pflueger Architects cited options ranging from roughly 43,000 to 85,000 square feet; the committee presented an estimated cost range for a new CTE center of about $35 million to $47 million for a 43,000–56,000-square-foot facility and said the district should optimize size for current and future programs.

- Roofing and HVAC: The committee’s final assessment lists roofing work for 15 elementary schools, three middle schools and three high schools, and HVAC upgrades for about 15 elementary campuses, two middle schools and three high schools. One figure presented for roofing and HVAC upgrades was approximately $305,900,000; another line-item summary listed about $209,800,000 for related window, canopy and energy-efficiency work. Committee members said timing and inflation affect estimates.

- Selected campus renovations: The subcommittees recommended major renovations for several campuses. Estimates provided in the report include Canales Elementary at about $20,600,000; Sharp Elementary at about $31,400,000; Stell Middle School at about $17,700,000; and PACE Early College High School at about $22,600,000. The committee noted total project costs may change depending on start dates and contingencies.

- Transportation and buses: The district’s Transportation Department currently operates more than 270 buses; the committee reported that by 2029 about 70 buses will reach the typical 15-year replacement threshold. The estimated cost to replace 70 buses was listed at $11,500,000, and the estimated cost to build a new transportation building and warehouse was about $29,600,000.

- Technology, safety and other districtwide needs: The committee recommended a device-replacement rotation that would replace roughly 50% of student devices annually with an estimated recurring cost of $3,000,000 per year. It also recommended upgrades to intercoms, fire alarms and elevators (noting that some elevator parts are no longer available), and improvements to stadium lighting, lockers and visitor facilities at Sam’s Stadium and Veterans Stadium.

Performing-arts center: divided recommendation

The districtwide subcommittee recommended developing a dedicated visual and performing-arts center, estimating a facility in the range of 43,000–57,000 square feet would cost roughly $40,000,000 to $55,000,000. The districtwide subcommittee said the performing-arts center would allow the district to host more events, reduce rental costs and better serve families and programs.

However, the overall Citizens Facility Committee did not endorse including the performing-arts center within the general-purpose proposition. The committee recommended that, if the board chooses to pursue a performing-arts building, it should appear as a separate ballot proposition. The finance presenters noted that state rules require a separate special-purpose proposition for a performing-arts facility (as referenced in the meeting) and said adding the center to the general-purpose package without additional tax capacity would force removal of other projects from the package. Meeting presenters estimated a roughly 3-cent tax-rate increase could finance approximately $45–50 million for that special-purpose proposition.

School consolidations and capacity planning

Elementary and secondary subcommittees discussed consolidation options where enrollment and facility condition make repair impractical. The elementary subcommittee recommended consolidation of Skinner, Villanueva and El Jardin (transcript spelling variants noted) for the 2026–27 school year and Palm Grove for 2027–28, and proposed alternatives such as repurposing underused middle-school facilities and relocating programs. The secondary subcommittee recommended assessing underused campuses and noted several schools operating well below capacity; they urged the board to consider consolidation or repurposing as part of the board-level rezoning and facilities discussion.

Public comment and next steps

Two public commenters urged the board to support a performing-arts center. Jose Montano, a band director at Garcia Middle School, said, "The need is urgent," describing crowds turned away at a recent event and rental costs the district incurred. Former BISD band director Cesar Mascoro also urged trustees to prioritize a fine-arts facility to reflect the district’s strong performing-arts participation and achievements.

Committee members asked trustees to review the appendices and the full assessment before deciding whether to call a bond election. Presenters said the board has scheduled additional meetings to review the packet line by line, including a listed meeting on Feb. 6 and an additional Feb. 10 meeting if needed, at which trustees will determine whether to call a bond election and how to structure any propositions.

Attribution and document availability

The report presented to the board contains an appendix with the committee’s full listing of recommended projects and the cost estimates obtained to date. Members of the Citizens Facility Committee emphasized the assessments are estimates tied to current pricing and that inflation and legislative or valuation changes could affect final numbers. The committee thanked more than 100 volunteers and several architects and engineers who provided pricing and assessments.

Ending: The board of trustees will consider the committee’s report and is scheduled to review the materials at upcoming board meetings before deciding whether to call a bond election.