Representatives of the Brownwood Pride Political Action Committee were on hand at Monday night’s Brownwood ISD Board of Trustees meeting, where by unanimous vote a May election was called for a $59,950,000 bond for campus-wide improvements.

Dating back to the November 2021 meeting of the BISD Board of Trustees, several citizens had approached the district requesting improvements be made to select facilities. To help guide the community group’s efforts, professional services including master planning, site analysis, facility condition study, and cost estimates were needed. Claycomb Associates Architects provides such services at no cost to the community and a formal agreement was approved to allow Claycomb to work with community leaders and the district.

Fast forward to Monday night, where Matt Noe – chairperson of the Brownwood Pride Political Action Committee – said in his presentation to the board, “After walking through every facility and taking a picture of nearly every square inch of everything we could, talking to a number of parents and citizens around town and every single coach at the high school and middle school level, we then surveyed teachers before the start of the school year to get their input on what they needed at their schools. We collected that and assembled 20 people that represented our community, young and old, every race, people who have had kids go through the school, people who have moved in from other towns.

“We wanted to make sure we were challenged, it was not something we wanted to fly right through. We put together a proposal to explore every single project that the architects, teachers, coaches and that we saw ourselves. I wanted to make sure we were being comprehensive while being responsible in the proposal we brought to you. Through that committee we tried to democratize every decision and put out a survey amongst the committee after looking at all the pictures, plans and projects. What we decided to put forward was the absolute minimal proposal that we could put forward that affected the most kids and citizens across the community.”

What was proposed is three separate propositions that will appear on the ballot in the May election. Proposition A, at $27,650,000, features several district-wide improvements. Proposition B, at $16,300,000, revolves around improvements to Gordon Wood Stadium. And Proposition C, at $16,000,000, calls for the construction of an indoor student activity center at Brownwood High and additional facility upgrades.

A full list of what is included in each proposition can be found at the following link: https://www.brownwoodnews.com/2023/02/13/bisd-trustees-approve-59950000-bond-election-for-may/

Brownwood ISD Board of Trustees president Michael Cloy said during Monday’s meeting, “While I was not a member of the committee I attended most of those meetings and it was diverse, well-represented, well thought out. This is a community-sponsored project. Claycomb was there mainly to assist with architectural concepts and pricing and that sort of thing. There was also a bond representative there as well as a financial advisor. This project is community driven and speaking for the board I feel they brought us the best thing they can bring us to further Brownwood ISD and raise it to a new level.”

Trustee Eric Evans added, “I appreciate the group and all the conversations they’ve had. They were not secretive, they were not trying to do something under the table so to speak. We’ve had lots of conversations and I feel they were very forthright. I appreciate the approach you are taking to this, you’ve done your due diligence in getting feedback and I couldn’t appreciate that more as I look to support this particular project. The people get to decide, but I feel it could be a real positive step for our community, our school district and our kids.”

BREAKING DOWN THE BOND PROPOSAL

Noe and fellow committee members Eric McNeese and Steven McCrane fielded questions after the meeting for those curious about decisions regarding the bond.

As for there being three separate propositions on the ballot, Noe said, “Some of that is dictated by what you can include and not include in the same proposition. Anything over 1,000 seats, as in a stadium, we had to put in its own proposition. Beyond that, it’s a really a decision of how you to group things together, so we grouped everything that was district-wide that touches everything from elementary school floors to security and safety, as well as all the other projects. The third one is what we feel would be the most used facility in the district. We wanted to make sure it was very clear what it was and how we’re going to use it, and put that on the third proposition.”

In terms of what the committee feels is the most important aspect of the bond, Noe said, “The No. 1 thing and the reason I got involved is ADA safety (at Gordon Wood Stadium). The school district has done the best they can do at this point, but there’s not enough rails, there’s not enough easy access. As someone with a wife who has challenges getting around that was the No. 1 thing – ramp access, aisles and stairs renovated to be code compliant, ADA parking, and the lights are pretty dark in some of the corners.

“Once you start looking at some of that stuff you notice other things like concessions so that the band and their booster club can see the game while they’re working concessions. The press box is pretty dated, and we found a lot of things out from talking to coaches like the turf is getting around the time where you’d want to replace it given the traction that’s on there all year long, and the track needs resurfacing.”

McNeese, the treasurer of the Brownwood Pride Political Action Committee said, “I didn’t want to get involved in this at first, but I took a tour of the facilities and saw needs that are eye-opening, and the only way to get there is through a bond. You can’t raise enough private funds for it all. If you keep pushing back, if not now when? We wanted to make sure we did proper due diligence and not rush into this. That’s why we interviewed all the coaches and got feed back from the band director and had committee meetings, to make sure we’re going about this the right way.”

McCrane was also against the idea of the bond originally, and said, “Nobody wants taxes to go up, nobody on the committee wants taxes to go up. I was pessimistic when they first came to me a year and a half ago, but we need to do what’s feasible. It is a big number, but it’s realistic when you look at what’s out there and all the project problems we are able to solve underneath that umbrella. The last bond election was 14 years ago and that blew my mind. I spoke up in one of the meetings where we talked about safety and security like cameras in the high school parking lot, and said ‘we just did cameras the last time we did this.’ But pictures look a lot different now than 14 years ago, and how many of those cameras don’t work anymore?”

Regarding the bond from 14 years ago, according to Richard Bain of Claycomb Associates Architects, “five to seven years” remain until it is paid off. Brownwood ISD provided information that the Interest and Sinking rate – the tax rate levied by districts to pay for any bond debt that may have been issued to fund the construction of schools and facilities – for that bond is 17 cents per $100 valuation and will be paid off in 2030.

Bain added if all three propositions pass in May, that will add another 9 cents per $100 valuation, but once the bond from 14 years is paid in full, taxes would decrease and be lower than they currently are despite the passage of this bond.

The Brownwood Pride Political Action Committee is hopeful the state legislature will provide some assistance in regard to property taxes.

“We’re working hard through the state right now for M&O with their $34 billion surplus for Texas, looking at ways to relieve taxpayers from the standpoint of property taxes,” McCrane added. “We’re pushing for that with that extra surplus, so we will know that vote before we know our bond vote. We don’t know, but the impact may be significantly less if the state does what it says it’s going to do and pumps some of that money back into property relief. That could be a big win.”

The Maintenance and Operations (M&O) rate is the tax rate levied by districts to fund the operations and maintenance of schools, including maintenance tax notes, and contracts to finance movable equipment.

When asked about the bond perhaps being too football- or athletics-oriented, Noe said, “When we started looking at these projects it’s not just about athletes. There’s our fans, old and young, kids in band, kids in drill team, and kids all the way down to the elementary schools that will benefit. That’s what is really exciting to me, it’s not just about one part of the program. It truly will touch the majority of our kids.”

McCrane added, “What’s important that I found is nothing has really been done outside of private donors for extracurriculars. The reason the softball stands look the way they do is we had a donor. You look at different venues and we wanted to come up with something that affects every extra curricular sport. The number of kids in extracurricular activities is between 70 and 80 percent and that’s huge. This is not a football thing only, this is encompassing all these kids.”

Stephenville in November approved a $39,978,837 bond for a new football stadium after a larger, $49 million-plus bond failed in May. Asked if that played any role in the BISD bond proposal, McCrane said, “Stephenville had some fluff in it. I don’t feel like we have fluff in ours. If they build a stadium and field house for 39 million and we can do everything in our list for that price, it’s huge.”

McCrane continued, “If we don’t do it now when? If you wait, what are the interest rates and the cost of building materials going to look like down the road? Fourteen years ago if we didn’t do the things we did then, what would that cost us now?”

For additional details and information regarding the bond proposal, visit https://www.brownwoodisdbond.com/