Eagle Pass ISD hears $150M facilities wish list and legal briefing on bond propositions and timeline
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Summary
Board received a facilities committee report listing roofs, HVAC, fencing, accessibility and portable replacements among top needs, with committee estimates showing up to $150 million for all items and $78 million for top 25 priorities; bond counsel explained timeline and SB 30 requirements including the mandated all-caps notice that the ballot is a property tax increase.
The Eagle Pass Independent School District board on Nov. 11 heard a facilities-committee presentation and a detailed legal briefing about how the district could proceed with a bond election to pay for facility repairs and renovations.
Facilities committee leaders said teams visited campuses over the summer and ranked needs by priority, separating "needs" from "wants." Committee co-chair Katrina listed districtwide priorities that included replacement of HVAC systems and chillers (Eagle Pass High School and CC Wynne), reroofing, PA-system replacement, fencing and controlled entry upgrades, accessibility improvements and replacement of portable classrooms at ECC and Kennedy Hall. The committee presented cost examples: an elementary-school replacement at roughly $19,000,000; a natatorium estimated at $8,750,000; and a full identified list of about 176 items totaling approximately $150,000,000, with the top 25 items estimated near $78,000,000.
David Gonzalez of PFM Financial Advisors reviewed the district’s current debt profile (about $34,000,000 outstanding) and the tax-rate context. Gonzalez showed illustrative homeowner impacts for candidate bond totals: his slides projected increases in the district’s interest-and-sinking (I&S) tax for a $125 million or $150 million bond, with an example monthly impact of roughly $7–$9 for a $200,000 home and $36–$44 for a $450,000 home depending on the selected scenario.
Bond counsel Juana Aguilera and co-counsel Humberto Aguilar walked the board through the legal timeline and new legislative requirements. Counsel said the board could target adopting an order calling a bond election on Feb. 10, 2026, with statutory deadlines for notice, posting of the voter-information document, publication in a local newspaper, early voting and canvass. Counsel highlighted SB 30 (2019) and more recent election-code changes that require separating certain project types into distinct propositions (stadiums, natatoriums, recreational/athletic facilities, performing-arts facilities, teacher housing and major technology/equipment) and that mandate the ballot begin with an all-caps statement that "THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE." Counsel also confirmed that separate dollar amounts must be shown for each proposition and that amounts are typically listed "not to exceed."
Trustees asked practical questions about whether to combine items in a general-purpose proposition and how voters react to multiple propositions; counsel noted success rates tend to be higher for a general-purpose Prop A and that newer law has changed ballot presentation and voter perception.
Next steps: staff, bond counsel and financial advisers will continue to refine project lists, cost estimates and a legal timeline for a possible spring 2026 bond election; no bond order was adopted at the Nov. 11 meeting.