Stafford voters will be asked on Nov. 7 to approve a $62 million bond proposal that would include building a new middle school and administration building for the Stafford Municipal School District as well as a magnet school.
After three hours of discussion, questions and comments on Aug. 2, the Stafford City Council voted 6-0 to place the school district bond on the ballot.
The council's decision was based on a recommendation from 20-plus members of the Stafford MSD Long Range Facilities Planning Committee (LRFP) and the Stafford MSD Board of Trustees.
If voters approve the proposal, it could raise the district's tax rate to $1.3352 per $100 of valuation. According to district officials, that would mean an increase of $8.76 per month in additional taxes for a home valued at $100,000. Homeowners 65 and older would not see a tax increase. The rate now is $1.230050 per $100.
Mayor Leonard Scarcella noted, also, that businesses represent a significant portion of the city's valuation or approximately 75 percent. The district is the only municipal school district in the state.
Farrah Sabouni, an architect and planner at AutoArch architects of Houston, reviewed the bond items at the meeting. The proposed bond includes:
A new Stafford Middle School for 850 students with an auditorium, cafeteria, library and gymnasium. The 139,000-square-foot school would serve grades 6-8. Total project cost is $33.8 million. She said it would offer flexible space and natural light.
A new magnet school for Science, Technology, Engineering & Math would be located in the original middle school and be open to grades 3-12. Tech and noninstructional rooms would be relocated. Project cost is $2.9 million.
A new 30,000-square-foot administration building would include a larger board room, multipurpose training rooms, offices and visitor center/Museum for Stafford MSD. The project cost is $7.7 million.
Repurposing the current administration building to a volunteer and community center at a cost of $1.1 million.
Sabouni said a central quad or educational plaza would line up with the high school and then connect with the new middle school. The outdoor space would be available to the community after school hours, she said.
Sabouni listed other bond-funded projects as including: $2.7 million for the elementary school, grades 1-5, with renovations to classrooms, life skills rooms and the library; $1.7 million for the high school to renovate the library and black box theater and expand the life skills classroom; and $1.6 million to repurpose the intermediate school for prekindergarten and kindergarten.
Other features include plans to improve street circulation and connectivity and add 200 parking spaces, she said.
Maintenance and operation costs are projected to increase by $497,000 after the bond projects are completed, according to officials.
Superintendent Robert Bostic emphasized the bond recommendation is the result of a team effort to make Stafford MSD one of the premier school districts in the state.
"Going into this process, it is not about just building a building," said Bostic. "It's about academics. Because at the end of the day, any pretty building we build is only a pretty building. It is only worth something based on what we put in it."
He talked about the district's 20/20 vision to improve academics and said the process has taken about a year.
At the Aug. 2 meeting, Auturo Jackson, Stafford MSD school board president, reminded City Council that a few months earlier school district officials came before the mayor and city council seeking a bond referendum.
At a Feb. 13 joint SMSD-Stafford City Council meeting, school board trustees voted unanimously (7-0) to place a comprehensive $79.4 million bond on the May 6 ballot, said Michael Sudhalter, the district's communications coordinator. At a special Feb. 16 meeting, however, City Council voted 3-3 (with one member absent) on the proposal, he said.
"Council asked us to slow down and not now," he said. "We went back as a school district and revised that original plan," he said.
Changes include a new architect, new community members and a revised and lower bond package.
The new proposal besides being for a lesser amount is different, said Sudhalter, because "the architect would construct a new middle school rather than taking down and rebuilding the current one."
The school district's last bond election was in 2011 for $49.9 million, he said.
Sudhalter said, "All of the funds have been dedicated to projects. All but approximately $300,000 of the $49.9 million has been spent."
During the public portion of the city council meeting, fewer than 10 people spoke but all favored the city placing the proposal on the ballot.
Officials noted the district was formed 40 years ago and Sadie Williams, a co-chair of the LRFP and a representative of the Stafford Historical Society, said a State of Texas Historical Marker for the school district would be unveiled on Oct. 8.
