Longview ISD/Huckabee

Exactly how much is the District asking for?
The District is asking for $266,875,000 for the construction of the proposed projects. This cost includes construction, architectural and engineering fees, furniture, fixtures equipment, and technology.

What is a bond?
A school bond is similar to a home mortgage. It is a contract to repay borrowed money with a low-cost interest rate over time. Bonds are sold by a school district to competing lenders to raise funds to pay for the costs of construction, renovations and equipment. Most school districts in Texas utilize bonds to finance renovations and new facilities.

How was the bond package developed?
The District hired Paul Trautman with the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), a third-party independent consultant, to perform a district-wide facility assessment of all LISD campuses. The campuses were studied in terms of student capacity, instructional delivery, age of facilities, grade configurations and site size. (To view the full results, please visit longview.huckabee-inc.com.) These results were presented to the LISD Board of Trustees at the November 2007 Board Meeting. Also present at this meeting were members of the LISD Citizens’ Bond Committee. This volunteer committee, made up of a cross-section of the community, was formed to study Mr. Trautman’s assessment and make a recommendation to the Board as to which projects should be included in the bond referendum. The District also hired an architect to assess the feasibility of Mr. Trautman’s recommendations and to put a dollar figure to those items. This team worked closely with the Citizen’s Bond Committee and District Administration to determine which projects to recommend as part of the May 10, 2008 bond election.

Why is the District proposing to replace so many campuses? Why not just renovate them instead?
The cost to renovate the campuses to meet current educational, building code and American with Disabilities Act requirements nearly matches the cost to build a new campus. For example, to fully renovate Foster Middle School, it would cost $33,461,830. A new facility it is estimated to cost $37,616,157. Also, the current sites are too small for additions of this magnitude. In addition, renovating these campuses would extend the life of the building by 20 years. However, building new, quality facilities with long-lasting and durable materials like masonry, terrazzo, and geothermal HVAC systems as proposed can provide a building life of over 50 years. Using these materials and systems will also be more cost effective to maintain and operate.

Why is the District proposing to do all of this work now? Why not break it into phases over the next several years?
The District decided to ask taxpayers for the entire amount at once so that several bond issues back-to-back would not be necessary. Also, construction costs play a significant role because, currently, costs are rising 12 percent a year. This would increase the cost of the projects, which would in turn, increase the amount of taxes needed to fund them. For example, the current proposed bond issue, if postponed for five years, would cost nearly an additional $200 million.

Is the District enrollment declining?
No. Recent enrollment history has been in a pattern of general decline. However, the demographic study suggests Longview ISD is forecasted to reverse that pattern and begin to grow slowly over the next 10 years. This study also suggests that there are growing numbers in the lower grades.

Why was LISD moved to 4A?
This year, the State increased the number of students needed to qualify for 5A. In 2006/07 & 2007/08, 5A classification began at 1,985 students. Now, the number to qualify for 5A is 2,085. Currently, Longview High School has 2,022 students enrolled.

What is the current state of LISD facilities?
The facility assessment states that 12 of the district’s 15 campuses are “educationally and economically obsolete.” All schools have exceeded their functional capacity to the extent that there are over 700 students housed in portable buildings. This is the equivalent of one new elementary school population. The original phases of all schools average 48-years-old. Aside from South Ward and Doris McQueen, the district’s other schools range in age between 32 and 80 years, and most have had three or more additions.

How is the tax rate configured?
The M&O, or Maintenance & Operations, tax rate is used to fund the daily operations of the school district, i.e. pay salaries, buy supplies, maintain buildings, etc. Under current law, that tax rate is capped at $1.040 and cannot be raised above that level without voter approval.

The I&S, or Interest & Sinking, tax rate is used to pay off outstanding debt in the form of bonds. If approved, the proposed bond election will only raise the I&S tax rate by approximately 37.5 cents.

The total tax rate, if the bond is approved, would be $1.513 at most. To estimate the tax impact of the proposed bond, the District’s financial advisor used very conservative estimates, assuming a 5.15 percent interest rate (current rates are around 4.70 percent) and an increase to the taxable value of the District of only 5 percent per year for five years and remaining constant thereafter. (The actual average growth rate is 6.38 percent over the last five years.) Based on these conservative estimates, it may be possible that the total tax rate will be less than $1.513.

What are the proposed changes to Longview High School?
The District is proposing the following:

CATE Addition: Expand existing CATE building to allow the existing CATE classes currently located in the main high school building to be relocated to a new addition (CATE= Career & Technology Education)
Fine Arts Addition: Move band, choir, art and ROTC programs out of the existing high school into a new building. The music program will include band and choir rehearsal halls, practice rooms and support spaces. The theater program will include classrooms, a black box classroom and a 500-seat auditorium will a full-size stage. The current theater will become a large lecture hall and a space for Distance Learning programs.
PE Gym: New gym and locker rooms that will be located next to Lobo Gym
Main Building: Partial renovation of existing science classrooms, a renovation of vacated CATE classrooms into new science rooms, a renovation of current Fine Arts wing for athletic locker room expansion and additional parking.

What is the proposed grade configurations of the new elementary campuses?
All elementary schools in the District, except Hudson PEP, will become a K-5 campus. This will allow for continuity of instruction at these grade levels as students will attend one campus consecutively.

Why do the three new middle schools’ costs differ?
The proposed designs for the new middle school to replace Forest Park and the new middle school to replace Foster are the same. However, Foster is estimated to cost more due to the fact that it will start construction one year later and inflation costs will be incurred. The proposed Judson Middle School replacement design will be similar to the other two new schools, except the existing library and classroom building will be incorporated.

What do the additions and renovations at South Ward Elementary School consist of?
As proposed in this bond election, South Ward will receive a 14-classroom addition, gym addition, library expansion and building code upgrades.

What do the additions and renovations at Doris McQueen Elementary School consist of?
As proposed in this bond election, Doris McQueen will receive a 16-classroom addition, gym addition, cafeteria/library expansion, roof replacement, building code upgrades and ADA upgrades. (ADA=Americans with Disabilities Act)

Since you are using the Judson Middle School site, are you still using the septic system?
No, the District will not re-use the existing septic system. The project includes extending City sewer services to the site to avoid using a septic system.

What are the proposed classroom sizes at the new elementary schools?
The District is proposing classroom sizes of 810 ft2 for grades EE-First and 750 ft2 for grades 2-5. Currently, elementary school classroom sizes range from 561-680 ft2.

What is the district doing to address energy efficiency?
The District is proposing several items to increase energy efficiency:

Geothermal HVAC systems at all new campuses. These systems use the earth’s temperatures to heat and cool the buildings and require less electricity than a normal system would need.
Occupancy sensors in classrooms and other spaces. These sensors can detect when spaces are empty and can, therefore, shut down lighting systems until they are needed.
Tinted, insulated windows that are energy efficient

Where will the new schools be located?
At this time, the District is planning to locate the sites of the proposed new facilities equally across the community. However, the District has not selected specific sites. With the passage of the bond issue, the District will then finalize the locations.

Who sets appraised property values?
State law requires county appraisal districts throughout the state to set property values. Therefore, the Gregg County Appraisal District sets the valuations of property within LISD.

How is the District planning on combining the elementary school projects?
The District is presently considering combining Everhart, McClure, GK Foster and Pinewood Park; however, the final decision will be made by the Board if the bond passes and we move into the construction phase.

Why is the District proposing to add a third gymnasium to Longview High School?
With the current layout of the high school campus, the Physical Education students share locker room space with the students who participate in our athletic program. By adding the proposed PE/Practice gym, the students who are in the Physical Education program will have their own locker room and their own gym to use during the day.

Furthermore, when both existing gym facilities are in use, the students who play in the "green gym" have to walk outside across the campus to go practice or play a game. The proposed new PE/Practice gym will be connected to the Coliseum, so students will not have to walk across the campus during inclement weather in order to practice.

The new PE/Practice gym will have a regular hardwood court. Currently, the "green gym" does not have a playing surface that is usable for basketball. This will allow additional use for after-school activities.

Since Hudson PEP is designated to be rebuilt, would it also be possible to relocate it?
At this point, the new campus locations have not been determined. If voters approve the bond in May, the District will look at many different aspects of site selection as we begin to research land acquisition for the bond projects.

What is the term of the bonds and how long will the increase be in effect?

The projected term of the bonds is a maximum of 28 years. In fact, given that the District is proposing to sell the bonds in three installments, the second and third bond terms are projected to be 27 and 26 years respectively.

The projected tax rate increase of 37.5 cents is expected to be phased in over three years. After year five, it is possible for the tax rate to begin to decline (the projected numbers assume a flat tax base after year five).