A unanimous vote is unlikely Thursday as the Houston Independent School District’s trustees vote on putting a $1.9 billion general obligation bond referendum on the November ballot.
Board president Mike Lunceford said several members probably will not support the election ordinance, despite some alterations to the bond plan outlined last week by Superintendent Terry Grier.
The revised plan calls for new high schools to replace two that were to have been renovated, and removed some elementary school projects to provide more money for others. The proposal allocated $1.36 billion of the proceeds to high school projects.
Grier said the plan was revised after questions from trustees about the original plan he outlined June 21. “We listened very, very carefully to individual board members,” he said.
Approval of the bonds would require an increase in the district’s property tax rate, phased in over four years, Grier said. The school tax on a $200,000 home would go up by $99 per year.
HISD’s $2.3 billion of outstanding GO debt is rated Aaa by Moody’s Investors Service and AA-plus by Standard & Poor’s. Its debt is enhanced to triple-A with coverage by Texas’ Permanent School Fund.
