Board Notes

A Summary of the April 1, 2008, Tyler ISD Board of Trustees Meeting

Board Approves Cancellation of Trustee Election and Election of Unopposed Candidate

The Board of Trustees approved the Order of Cancellation of Election and certify the election of Orenthia Mason as trustee for Single Member District 2 for a term of three years effective May 2008.  In accordance with the Texas Election Code, the Board of Trustees must issue an order declaring the election cancelled and the unopposed candidate elected.  An election will be held for Single Member District 4.

Board Approves a Reduction in Force

The Board of Trustees approved a reduction in force due to the program change/elimination of courses in Career and Technical Education (CTE).  For the 2008-2009 school year, the Computer Application course and the Computer Maintenance Technician courses will not be offered due to insufficient student course requests.

Facility Master Plan Discussed at Bond Workshop

Randy Reid, Tyler ISD Superintendent presented background material to the Board of Trustees regarding the four phase master facility plan.  He stated that at the time of the 2004 election, 4 phases were outlined.  As Tyler ISD moves past the completion of Phase 1 of the 2004 Bond Election, and begins the planning of Phase 2, the board needs to consider and discuss future plans for the remaining elementary schools according to the original four phase master plan.  Phase 1 included the construction of six elementary replacement schools for Austin, Bell, Bonner, Douglas, Peete and Ramey, and the construction of one new campus, Jack Elementary.

Reid stated that the first phase was to address the needs of the elementary campuses first, and also address the needs of the worst campuses first.  Reid said he is very excited to talk about the next phase.  He re-emphasized to the Board of Trustees that the District wants to make a commitment to honor the promise made to the public in addressing the needs originally discussed in Phase 2.  This second phase would address the construction needs at Birdwell, Clarkston, Dixie, Griffin, Jones, Orr, Owens, Rice, and Woods.

Dr. Reid introduced Robert Sands, Program Executive with The Facility Group to present data to the Board of Trustees.  The Facility Group is the pre- bond development firm hired by the District in January.

Sands explained to the Board of Trustees that the general practice of a 25 year span between structure renovations is no longer adequate.  He explained how periodic adjustments are needed to accommodate other factors such as educational programs, technology, and building code improvements.

Sands told the Board of Trustees that the construction cost estimates have increased dramatically since the original $400 million estimate for all construction work of the four phase master plan.  He noted that the first phase of the bond spent more than $95 million alone.  He also showed a local example of how the construction costs to build two identical structures (Jack and Peete elementary schools) increased more than 10% from the time Jack Elementary was built to the time when Peete Elementary was built.

Sands explained that inflation and increased construction costs are the root of the increased price projections for future renovations or rebuilds.

The group reviewed the elementary schools that have not been rebuilt to review their conditions for consideration of either renovations or rebuilds in the future.  The Facility Group examined the inflation factor of the cost of replacing a campus, and displayed a projected 10% increase yearly for the next 6 years.  Sands recommended to the Board of Trustees to build as many facilities as soon as possible.

Dr. Reid shared with the Trustees the idea of layering bond election, so no time would be lost.  This process could involve holding future elections before the completion of the work on the previous one.

Board of Trustees President Brad Spradlin recommends that the District move as quickly as possible and report back in a few weeks with various scenarios to discuss in the next bond workshop.