Arlington ISD staff on Thursday briefed the Board of Trustees on progress by the Capital Needs Steering Committee (CNSC), which is preparing bond-ready recommendations for the board in January.

District leaders said the CNSC — a group of about 40 community members — has reviewed facility condition assessments, enrollment projections and program feasibility as part of a 10-year planning process. “Through the community input and community engagement, the CNSC will prioritize capital projects through 2029 and deliver bond and board ready bond recommendations in January,” Doctor Collins said during the presentation.

Staff described the facility condition assessment methodology used to score buildings with a Facility Condition Index (FCI) — a lower score indicates better condition. Kelly Horne, who presented the FCA findings, said the districtwide average FCI is about 26, but singled out South Davis as a campus with substantial needs (South Davis FCI about 88%). “Because not every need can be addressed at the same time, we categorize our facility needs according to priority levels,” Horne said.

Finance staff and a Hilltop financial adviser explained how school bonds are funded and showed debt-per-capita comparisons across Region 11. Norberto said Arlington ISD’s debt-per-capita is toward the lower tier of the region and described how I&S tax-rate scenarios relate to borrowing capacity.

The CNSC has held school tours and department briefings to help members assess priorities. Taina Northington said the district has posted CNSC agendas, presentations and recap articles at aisd.net/cnsc and is collecting public feedback via a form that staff route to committee members for response.

Board members asked about committee schedules, public responses and when recommendations will return to trustees. Doctor Hill encouraged trustees to attend future CNSC meetings and noted the committee’s next steps focus on prioritizing projects for the January report.

The board took no formal action Thursday; staff said they will return with specific project and bond recommendations next month.