Victoria ISD bond advisory committee backs new combined Dudley-Hopkins elementary, recommends $207M package (projected ~$239M)

A Victoria ISD bond advisory committee on a recent evening recommended that the district pursue a bond package centered on building a new combined Dudley-Hopkins elementary school, rather than remodeling Dudley alone or building at the Stroman site. The committee reported a final recommendation vote of 16 in favor, 8 opposed and 1 abstention.

The recommendation follows several months of planning and estimates compiled by two architecture firms (RMA and PBK) and district staff. Presenters walked the committee through project-level estimates for multiple campuses — including Taurus, Vickers, Patty Welder, the 56-classroom wing and STEM-related projects — and a running total of projects that administrators said currently aggregates to about $173 million; with a district-applied 5% annual inflation add-on over three years, the package was projected during the meeting to rise to roughly $200 million. Committee debate and preferred site choices produced a final configured package the presenters cited at about $207 million in today’s dollars and roughly $239 million when the three-year inflation adder is applied.

A VISD administrator who led the presentation said the district focused on “what we needed, not the ideal,” prioritizing right-sizing, MEP (mechanical,…