Montgomery ISD aims to recoup $800K scoreboard cost through ad revenue

The Montgomery, Texas, Independent School District is getting a new scoreboard with a price tag of $800,000.

Superintendent Dr. Beau Rees told The Courier Friday that the 25-foot-by-48-foot scoreboard will be paid for with bond interest earned from the 2015 bond election proceeds. It will be installed this summer upon completion of renovations at the Montgomery ISD Athletic Complex Football Stadium, which will be shared by Montgomery High School and the new Lake Creek High School. Renovations include new synthetic turf, a new track and painting.

Montgomery, Texas, business district

"Montgomery ISD will be forced to send to the state of Texas over $5 million in local tax dollars under the broken Robin Hood school finance system in 2018 and 2019," Rees told The Courier in a statement. "In an effort to maximize use of school district resources, MISD is using a portion of the interest earned from the 2015 bond program worth $256.75 million to invest in upgrades at the MISD Athletic Complex. These upgrades have the potential of generating revenue that will not be subject to Robin Hood."

Based on research of like-sized suburban school districts, Rees said Montgomery ISD expects to generate close to $200,000 a year with new advertising, including video commercial spots, and sponsorship programs focused on high school athletic scoreboards and marquees.

Within the last two years, Willis ISD replaced the district's football scoreboard, which was made of individual light bulbs that often burned out at games and could not be replaced because they were no longer made. The WISD football stadium scoreboard cost $150,000 and was funded through sponsors. The scoreboard does not display video but includes spots for sponsorships.

Conroe ISD's two football scoreboards and natatorium scoreboard cost a combined $2.8 million when they were purchased more than 10 years ago. The scoreboards at Woodforest Stadium in Shenandoah and Moorhead Stadium at Conroe High School cost $1.15 million apiece. They are each 31 feet 6 inches tall and 55 feet 6 inches wide. The scoreboard at the Conroe ISD Natatorium, which sits next to Woodforest stadium, cost $500,000.

They generated approximately $4 million in advertising revenue, resulting in total net revenue of $1.2 million, according to the district. A large chunk of that came from a contract granting Daktronics exclusive advertising rights. The company retained the revenue generated by advertising until the agreed-upon threshold was reached. Then, the excess revenue was given to the district.

According to Conroe ISD Deputy Superintendent Chris Hines, the anticipated lifespan of the boards was about 10 years.

And in fall 2017, Conroe ISD approved an amendment to the Design-Build contract for the Life Cycle replacement of all three of the scoreboards. The district negotiated a stipulated sum for the project in the amount of $3,124,526 to replace all three. The information states project funding would come from the CISD General Fund and once again be reimbursed through the sale of advertisements displayed on the scoreboards.

Information about New Caney ISD's scoreboard at the $20 million Texan Drive Stadium was unavailable.

Rees said other district initiatives to maximize funding and minimize Robin Hood include: Limited open enrollment of students outside of the school district to lower the property wealth per pupil and creation of the non-profit MISD Education Foundation to generate revenue for innovative and creative classroom curriculum projects.

According to information from Montgomery school board member Jim Dossey, the district also approved the comprehensive renovation of the bleachers and stadium complex, including cleaning, removal of all purple paint, painting stadium in neutral colors, and other improvements for a total cost of $406,968 funded by bond funds.

A school athletic services agreement with Memorial Hermann was approved for three years for four trainers, divided into two at each high school, with a possible two-year extension at a cost of $686,752 for three years.

The board also approved furniture, fixtures and equipment to furnish and outfit the athletic programs at Lake Creek High School, including Lake Creek volleyball for $34,999, Lake Creek girls basketball for $50,815 and Lake Creek cross country for $13,700 to be paid for with bond funds.

"For various reasons, the district has saved significant funds over the course of the bond project. The bond funds have also generated approximately $2.7M in interest that could be used for additional infrastructure projects outside of the original scope of the bond funds," Dossey stated in a public Facebook Post. "In last month's board meeting, some of these funds were used to replace the track and convert the main football stadium from grass to artificial turf. This month, additional funds will be used to replace the main scoreboard at the stadium, repaint the stadium, renovate the auditorium and cafeteria at MHS, and a change required for LCHS North entrance on (FM) 2854. The district is also considering a renovation of the main library at MHS."

Other approvals:

  • A change Order at Lake Creek High School, which includes Widening and Signalization of FM 2854, and construction changes required due to US Army Corps of Engineer requirements for North Road Entry. The total cost of the change order is $1,561,844 to be paid for with bond funds.
  • Equipment specific to the needs of daily operations in the Fine Arts Department at Lake Creek High School for $261,041 to be paid for with bond funds.
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Infrastructure
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