Superintendent outlines projects found in the proposed $135 million bond issue
(Seguin) — A new McQueeney Elementary School, a new Seguin High School baseball and softball complex, and the district’s first ever Agricultural Science Facility are among the list of projects being proposed for a $135 million November 2022 Seguin ISD bond issue.
The somewhat lengthy list of projects is not expected to raise the tax rate by more than two cents.
The bond election, if ordered in August, will be held during the November general election date, and it would list the projects on the ballot in two parts — Proposition 1 and Proposition 2.
The new McQueeney elementary campus, the creation of Ag center facility, renovations to Jim Barnes Middle School, and expansion of the district’s transportation department make up the bulk of Prop 1 at a total cost of $93.5 million.
Additional items found in Proposition 1 total $34.4 million, and includes things like roof replacements, the purchase of 18 to 20 school buses, technology infrastructure, plumbing and HVAC upgrades, land for future use, school furniture and security.
Proposition 2 calls for $7.5 million for a new baseball/softball complex at Seguin High School. Due to state mandates, the athletic complex must stand alone on the ballot for voter approval.
Now, it should be pointed out that the most noted and perhaps anticipated item in this list is $10 million for enhanced security measures districtwide. As it has already been reported, there is currently a Seguin ISD safety task force committee that is currently meeting to determine exactly how the district will improve security efforts. Those suggestions by this community-based group will soon be made available for public review and comment and will again be headlined to the community.
With security being a top priority for the district, it is also important to note that bond money cannot be used as part of general operating budget or to give raises. It can only be used for construction and renovation of facilities, the acquisition of land and the purchase of capital items such as equipment /buses.
Breaking down this list of potential bond projects even more is Superintendent Dr. Matthew Gutierrez. Dr. Gutierrez outlined some of the major proposed projects during Tuesday’s board workshop.
Dr. Gutierrez says finally after a much talked about McQueeney Elementary School, the time has finally arrived for voters to consider building a new $54 million campus at a different site.
“This campus is a Tier I need because of the age and the limited capacity of students that it holds. The building is over 100 years old, the original part of that building and there would be a need to start with McQueeney Elementary before we would address Weinert and Jefferson down the road to be able to accommodate the students on those campuses and with the McQueeney replacement currently, the capacity of McQueeney is probably just under 500. The capacity of this facility would be at about 750 or 800 to accommodate the growth that is happening in that part of the district. That’s where a lot of the fast growth in the Seguin ISD is happening,” said Gutierrez.
Dr. Gutierrez reminds voters that it was several years ago in another bond issue, where money was set aside for the school’s land purchase – a purchase he says will hopefully be announced soon.
“It has been a challenge to secure the land for a variety of reasons, but we are currently in conversations with a landowner. Of course, it is still early to talk about details. I believe that it is in a prime location that is convenient for our families that live on that side of the district. I’m pretty confident that here very soon, we will have an announcement about that land purchase for McQueeney so that it is ready for construction for the replacement campus,” said Dr. Gutierrez.
Dr. Gutierrez says the time seems to have also arrived for a new districtwide Agricultural Science Center – something that the Seguin ISD has not had. He says the district believes it’s not only important for the area economy but says it will provide a place for opportunity. This proposed $8.9 million Ag Center, if approved, would serve as a facility to house animals, store feed, create labs, additional education space and more.
“We lose students to neighboring school districts because neighboring school districts can meet their needs so we feel strongly in making sure that we can build a very strong Agricultural Science Program here in the Seguin ISD so that our students stay with us, and we can begin to expand upon our current programming with Ag and many of our kids do not currently have the amenities to house their animals. A lot of times, they are housed at a friend’s house or a relatives and so this would allow us to have the facility to ensure that our kids have the resources to be able to take care of and house their animals here in the Seguin ISD while also allowing us to recruit and attract more students in the Seguin ISD because we will have the capacity to be able to house their animals,” said Dr. Gutierrez.
Dr. Gutierrez says Barnes Middle School has also been busting at the seams not only in classrooms but also outside. He says the $26.8 million construction and renovation project includes the expansion of its cafeteria and will provide more classroom space and programming room for its course areas.
“If you have driven around Koennecke and Jim Barnes either for school drop off or pick-up, it is quite congested and quite chaotic. We would look at renovating the parking as well as increasing capacity at Jim Barnes because they are at capacity and so for safety reasons to add additional classroom space and programming space, we would be looking at addressing the needs there,” said Dr. Gutierrez.
The district is also needing to provide more space for not only its buses but for personnel at its transportation department located just in between King and Heideke Streets. District officials say the $3.8 million would help double the bay and maintenance areas plus provide some much-needed space for employees.
Dr. Gutierrez says Proposition 2, of course, helps to complete its overall vision for Seguin High School. As been reported several times by the Seguin Daily News, the district over the last several months has taken steps toward the design and other preliminary plans for the baseball/softball complex, which if approved, would sit at the southern half of the campus along College Street. Currently, both teams play in aging facilities – the boys at the Smokey Joe Field at the Seguin Events Complex and the girls at the 25-plus year playing field on campus. Not only are the fields deemed dangerous, but coaches are having to transport baseball players to and from Smokey Joe each day for practice and/or games.
“It is no surprise. In fact, the board back in 2017-2018 started having conversations about our baseball, softball complex and we realized that it was a need and when we started having those conversations back in 2017-2018, the idea was to completely finish out the high school which would include the stadium which thankfully that was approved and is complete. We have upgraded our tennis courts and the last piece of that puzzle would be to complete the baseball/softball complex. It is certainly out of date. It’s not up to par with other school districts and if we want to have a competitive baseball and softball program, we need to upgrade and invest in those facilities,” said Dr. Gutierrez.
Dr. Gutierrez says the hope is for voters to see the financial impact that athletic facilities can have not only for a district but on a community. He says there is already an example at Matador Stadium. He says the stadium generates some much-needed funds year-round and believes that the new baseball/softball complex would do the same thing.
So, what are the financial implications in voters saying yes? Dr. Gutierrez explains.
“Right now, we are estimating that for $135 million, it would be a two-cent tax increase per $100 valuation, and I think the other thing to keep in mind is when we went out for the bond referendum back in 2019, we were proposing a five-cent increase per $100 valuation and we ended up only increasing by 2.5 percent just because of the growth that is happening in Seguin. So right now, we are saying we are looking at those two cents just like we were saying a few years ago five cents, and it ended up being 2.5 but if the growth continues to happen in our community, it might not even be two cents but what we are going to be sharing with the community is that we are proposing that two cent increase,” said Dr. Gutierrez.
The proposed bond projects were shared with members of the Seguin ISD Board of Trustees during a special workshop held Tuesday. District officials say trustees have until August to take action if they wish to have the items appear on the Tuesday, Nov. 8 ballot. The last time the Seguin ISD held a bond issue was in May of 2019. The bond package at that time totaled $64.7 million and included the construction of the new Matador Stadium along with the renovation that is currently underway at A.J. Briesemeister Middle School.
The Seguin Daily News on Friday will feature Dr. Gutierrez as he shares even more behind the decisions made by the facilities committee and the work that it has taken to get the district to this point.