Ector County ISD is going for a $436,109,000 three-proposition bond in the Nov. 7 election that won’t require a tax increase, officials say.
Since 2020, ECISD has made early payments of $37.3 million in existing bonds, and by prepayment and refinancing, eliminated $26.9 million in future interest payments, its website detailed.
“Based upon the district’s existing tax base, the district would not need to increase the total tax rate of $1.17792 to pay the $436,109,000 of bond projects,” the site says.
Superintendent Scott Muri said there also is further tax rate compression coming due to action by the legislature.
“One of the things that we’ve been able to do at the district level is pay off our debt early, much as a homeowner might make extra payments and pay off (their) debt early. What that does is instead of your 30-year mortgage lasting for 30 years, it may only last for 20 years. You save all that interest. At the district level, we have been able to pay off our debt early by making extra payments. That has saved us, thus far, about $27 million in interest that we would have paid over the life of the bond,” Muri said.
He added that this is a win for the taxpayers.
“That creates bond capacity. Because we paid down all this debt, we now have the capacity to take on more debt with the same payment. … We can continue to make that payment without raising the payment and take on more debt. For us, we can do $437 million worth of new debt and the payment won’t go up,” Muri said.
With the passage of a property tax cut by the legislature, part of that new law will go for voter approval in November.
“So you and I as taxpayers will actually be voting do we want to lower our taxes? I have a feeling that will pass,” Muri said.
“Another part of it is tax compression. And that simply is the state paying more school tax than they do now. Basically, it’s hey school district, you don’t need to collect as many taxes. We as the state are going to pay for some of that and that’s what’s happening. So we will compress our taxes, and the state will pick up the difference that we’re not collecting. That’s what’s coming in September,” he said.
For years, most of the school funding burden has fallen on local taxpayers.
“You can see that when you look at our school budget, you can see that the majority of it is the local property taxes, and it’s starting to shift in which more and more of it is the state and not as much the local,” Muri said.
There are some people who will not believe taxes won’t go up until they see their first tax bill.
“The state passed a law years ago that said, once you reach the age of 65, your taxes are frozen. There are those that don’t believe that … You actually have to reach 65, get the bill yourself and realize, oh, that’s the same as last year. Well, yes, it is. Because the law says your taxes will not go up unless you modify your home in some way,” Muri said.
He added that the district will conduct an information campaign on the bond and already has events lined up.
“We want the information to be in the hands of every voter and taxpayer in the community and so we will seek out opportunities. In fact, we’ve already started lining up opportunities in the community for meetings,” Muri said.
The information campaign probably won’t start until mid to late September.
Early voting for the Nov. 7 election runs from Oct. 23-Nov. 3.
“We want voters to be well informed before they go to the polls and vote. An informed voter is a good voter. You want to know what you’re saying yes or no to. It’s up to us as the district to make sure that the people have the information they need,” Muri said.
As the superintendent, once the board called the election, he can neither be for or against the bond until Election Day.
“The board members, they’re a little different. They have to be on the information campaign when they’re on school property and really when they’re functioning as a board member. If one of our board members goes out and has a meeting as a board member, they can either be for or against. But can a board member knock on doors? Yes, they can, but as a citizen,” Muri said.
They can say as a citizen of this community they can express their feelings about the bond.
“Board members can have signs in their yard. Board members can talk to people about the bond and advocate for it, unless they claim that they’re a board member. If my name is Scott, and I’m a board member, well now you have to be neutral. But as long as our board members are citizens and parents and as long as they’re playing the different role then they can certainly engage in any way they want to,” Muri said.
As a teacher at work, they have to be neutral and just give information.
“But after hours, a teacher can have a sign in their yard. They can advocate for or against, they can do anything they want to but during the school day, you know Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. You’re on the clock, so you’re information. Board members are similar,” he added.
West Elementary School Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (Ruth Campbell/Odessa American)
There are three propositions in the bond, which also includes money to buy land for a new middle school and career and technical education center.
Muri said he wants people to know what’s in the bond, but also why it’s needed.
Proposition A is the largest at more than $420 million. It includes a new middle school; a new career and technical education facility; a new Transition Learning Center for special education replacing the current one; a new transportation facility; expenditures in fine and performing arts, athletics and ROTC.
There are also a lot of maintenance items in Proposition A including plumbing, electrical, HVAC — systems that are getting to the end of their lifecycle and have to be replaced.
There also are technology items, like the district’s phone system that are going to expire and have to be replaced.
Proposition B is for Ratliff Stadium. The concrete in the 40-year-old venue has to be resurfaced as it is cracking.
“We need that stadium to stand the test of time. We don’t want to have to replace it. We’d like it to be there for a longer period of time and so the why we’re doing it is because it is cracking and it needs to be sealed to prevent future decay,” Muri said.
There is also money in that proposition for lighting in the stadium parking lot.
“We don’t have lights in the parking lot,” Muri said.
Proposition C includes building a new indoor practice facility for Odessa High School and replacing the turf at the indoor practice facility at Permian High School. The PHS turf is 17 years old and should have been replaced seven years ago, he said.
In its information campaign, Muri said the district will leverage print media, social media, community meetings — a variety of different things.
“My ask would be that people find out truth. Facebook isn’t necessarily the place to get news, or accurate (information). You might find news there, but is it real news? Is it authentic? Is it truthful? I think that’s always a question people should ask,” Muri said.
“I would hope that our public would seek truth. If … Proposition A calls for a new middle school, why does the district need a new middle school? Those are answers that we should be able to provide to the community. We will provide factual answers. They won’t be pro or con because we can’t be. It’s here’s the truth,” he added.
“I would just hope that no matter how the public gets their information, that the public gets factual information and then you can make a smart choice as a member of the public when you go vote, you need the right information so you can make the decision that makes sense for you,” he said.
Muri noted that there is a Bond 2023 section on the ECISD website at ectorcountyisd.org/bond2023
“I encourage members of our community to visit that. It will be updated on a regular basis with opportunities for face-to-face conversations. We’ll also do a couple of ECISD Lives to first talk about the bond and then answer questions from the public about the bond. … Then out in the community, whether it’s the Rotary Club or a church group or another kind of civic organization, we will be out in public. If there is a group that is interested in having the district come in, do a presentation about the bond, then they can reach out” to Chief Communications Officer Mike Adkins to schedule those, Muri said.
The Communications Office can be reached at 432-456-9019.
He added that no matter their stance, the groups want to have the information.
Along with community groups, churches and others, ECISD will also present bond information internally. Muri said they will visit all 45 campuses between the middle of September and the end of October, as well as all departments and divisions.
Muri added that he encourages the public to educate themselves on the bond to make an informed decision at the ballot box.
“We have almost 86,000 registered voters in Ector County and so we should see 86,000 people coming to the polls to make a decision about the children in our community. I’d love to see that. … We’ve made it easy, so we’ve worked with the elections office to add multiple early voting locations, which last time we had one. Now we have three — one in the west, one in central, one at east. (It) makes it easier for people to do early voting. We’ve expanded the time of early voting. … The last four days (are) 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. That expanded time allows more people to have access to early voting. Then of course, Election Day, there are election sites of all over the community,” Muri said.
That information is on the Ector County Elections Office website, www.co.ector.tx.us/page/ector.Elections.
