Financial advisor, First Southwest Company, has recommended a staggered sale of bonds beginning in 2007 if the bonds are approved in May. Simultaneously to the sale of the bonds would be work to select architects for the construction projects. Bid opening for construction projects would likely take place in early 2008 and mid 2008 as design work progresses. The time table for construction will depend in large part on the availability of land, materials and an adequate construction work force. Typically, completion of an elementary school would take just under two years, a middle school would take approximately two years and a high school would take about two and a half years.

The VISD tax rate is comprised of two figures: one the tax rate to support the general operations of the district and the other to support voter-approved debt. Last year, the Legislature created a tax system that compresses local property tax rates in support of general operations. For 2007, this rate compresses to $1.00 with an additional four cents available for a local option. It is widely anticipated that this general fund compressed rate structure will remain in effect for the foreseeable future.

The financial advisors are recommending the sale of the bonds over a multi-year period to lessen the impact on the debt service tax rate. First Southwest has made several assumptions in developing the cost projections for the bond. Currently, interest rates on similar type bonds are less than five percent. Our estimates are based on using an interest rate of 5.5% for the first sale and 6.0% for the subsequent two sales in the event that bond rates begin to rise. The bond sales would be timed to coincide to when the funds are actually needed.

Assuming the first sale takes place in 2007 for $75 million, the impact on the local tax rate would be an additional 10.94 cents. The second issuance of bonds in 2008 would require an additional 7.25 cents on the debt service rate. A third and final sale of $35 million in 2009 would mean just under two more cents on the rate. The total impact spread out over the three-year sales period would be approximately 20 cents using the scenario as presented.

The planned allocation of the funds is as follows:

2 new high schools at approximately $46 million each	$92 million
1 new middle school	$17 million
2 new elementary schools	$17.5 million
Crain Middle School addition	$4.5 million
District Event Center	$9 million
Capital Improvements at Multiple Campuses	$19 million

At the time, the Legislature is in session. In years past, the lawmakers have designated funds to assist local school districts in financing bonds. The last VISD bond issue was approved by voters in 1997. The state is committed to paying approximately 30% of the VISD annual obligation to pay back the bonds. If the state approves similar fund assistance for local districts, the debt service tax impact would be proportionately reduced.

The bonds are proposed for pay back over a period of 30 years.

We anticipate that these more efficient facilities will allow VISD to offer more competitive salaries to employees in the high demand positions. To that end, the Human Resources Department has been working closely with the Superintendent to develop and enforce staffing ratios based on student enrollment. Positions in excess of the ratio would not be filled. No formal reduction in force is warranted. The ratios can be accomplished through attrition.

The School Board contracted with the Texas Association of School Boards to conduct a salary analysis for VISD. The study offers an examination of current salary structures and comparison of salaries to other districts and industries. The revisions in the VISD salary structure will allow for targeted efforts to address areas most in need.

Over the past decade, the premiums paid into the district’s self-insured employee health insurance program have failed to keep up with the costs of claims. Consequently, the district contributes, on average, in excess of one million dollars annually to maintain financial solvency. A careful review of benefits and costs is underway. Administration anticipates the cost savings to the district could be substantial, while at the same time providing a stable and cost efficient benefit to employees.

Program evaluations are underway to identify programs that provide tangible benefits to students and those that have limited significant impact on student achievement. Data-driven decisions will be made.

Dollar savings can be directed to improving salaries and providing other services to the students and staff.

The MHS Stroman Campus would be converted to the Victoria Area Advanced Learning Center if the Board approves the Superintendent’s recommendation. The Learning Center would offer middle and high school students higher level courses in a centralized location. An early college program could also be developed in conjunction with The Victoria College. Students would be enrolled at one of the two high schools and would travel to the Learning Center for all or part of the day.

There are multiple benefits to such an arrangement. Students, by enrolling at their home high school, would be able to participate in all of the extracurricular and co-curricular offerings of their school. The Center would make the availability of advanced level courses more likely by drawing from a larger pool of students. The Center would also help to address the growing shortage of high demand certified personnel in areas such as advanced math, science, and languages.

The structure of the Learning Center lends itself to accepting students for blocks of time who are currently enrolled in private schools, other school districts or who are home schooled. Enrollment at the Learning Center for at least two hours a day will generate additional state funding for Victoria ISD. This will substantially offset the cost of operating the Learning Center.

Over a period of time, the MHS Senior Campus would evolve into a district events center. Memorial Stadium is already located on the site. The site also features a quality track, tennis courts, and dressing rooms for multiple sports. The site houses the District Agriculture Farm and classroom structure for students. The site would also lend itself to a central location for other competition sports. The bond proposal includes adding an indoor swim facility and auditorium and performance center at this facility.

Existing classrooms could also be used to house other programs, including the District Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) that is currently housed in the Mitchell Guidance Center.

The question provides part of the answer with the word “identical.” To ensure equity, two high schools of comparable design and age are preferable. Likewise, capturing current student enrollment to create two equal learning communities also creates equity. Even though the schools would be fundamentally identical in terms of design, there are other aesthetic elements that can be added to create an identity for each school.

Renovation of a campus that will soon enter its sixth decade of service is not cost effective. While the Stroman Campus is approximately a decade newer than the Senior Campus, extensive renovations would be needed in coming years that are not cost effective compared to the overall life expectancy of the building.

The locations of the two high school campuses do not accommodate the growth patterns of VISD over recent decades. This makes creating equitable attendance zones difficult.

This is a philosophical issue. Almost all education research points to the benefits of small learning communities. In fact, the recommendation to create two VISD learning communities is based on this evidence. While VISD enrollment has declined in recent years on the secondary level, it is prudent when planning for a major construction project, to plan for growth.

Operation of two high schools will not be significantly higher than the operation of one high school on two campuses. The addition of a third high school to create high school enrollments in the 4A range would create the need for additional administration and staff. Most of the cost savings that might be seen through reduced extracurricular travel would be consumed by the additional operating costs.

Structuring a school to be more competitive in extracurricular activities by manipulating the enrollment of the school is difficult, at best. The UIL criteria for school enrollment changes each cycle based on enrollment at schools across the state. At the same time, comparative size is not always the deciding factor in the success of a program. Quality of program has a greater impact on success than student enrollment numbers.

The UIL alignments are for a two-year period. We will consult with UIL for guidance in addressing the issue should the need arise. Deliberately timing construction to coincide with the two year alignment period does not necessarily best serve students and the community.

The School Board will name new schools and/or facilities. Student and community input will be welcome. For mascots, colors, etc., typically, the Board has offered students the opportunity to make recommendations to Trustees. Trustees then make the final approval.

The attendance zones are based on the concept of feeder patterns within Learning Communities. The Learning Communities begin on the elementary level and move to middle and then high school. The ethnic make up of each learning community will mirror the overall District ethnic make up. Currently, those percentages are 54.5% Hispanic, 35.2% White, and 8.9% African American. The remaining 1.3% are identified as Asian, Pacific Islander or Native American.

Homeowners aged 65 and over currently are protected from tax increases by a ceiling on their rates. Unless the homeowner makes improvements that increases the value of the home, the school tax bill is set at the ceiling for the life of the homeowner. Therefore, the over 65 homeowner will not see an increase in the school taxes with passage of the bonds.

Certainly. The School District will follow state law and local policy in seeking and accepting bids and proposals for professional services related to all areas of the bond projects.

Yes! The School District would welcome the donation of property if the size and location of the property would be of benefit to the District.

Pages could be written in response to this question. But, a basic answer is that fundamentally, when students and staff feel positive about their school, they are more likely to come to work and school, actively participate in school activities, expect and create a safe and disciplined learning environment and ultimately improve student achievement. Parents are more likely to become a part of the school and the community is more likely to support their schools.

Currently, VISD data from multiple studies and surveys indicate the structure of the high school does little to promote a positive learning environment and community support. Creating the smaller Learning Communities and offering students adequate facilities that meet their learning needs are first steps in creating a school district in which the community is proud and students are best served.

Typically, older facilities do cost more in terms of utility bills and repairs. Most VISD buildings were retrofitted, for example, to accommodate air conditioning in the 1970s. At the time, energy was not the driving factor in construction or retrofitting. Electricity and natural gas costs comprised a lower percentage of the budget than the current environment. Older construction windows were in place to create airflow. Now, many windows create drafts and reduced energy efficiency.

Water use is typically greater in older facilities, as well. Old plumbing fixtures leak, pipes crack more easily, and there are fewer water flow reducers in the older designed fixtures.

Funds that are expended in areas of utilities and repairs are funds that are not available for classroom instruction and teacher salaries.

It is our intent that these facilities will improve attendance. The opening of the Advanced Learning Center will make advanced courses available to students who are not currently enrolled in Victoria Public Schools.

Basically, more students in attendance each day equates to more funding from the state. The cost to the District to place a teacher in a classroom with 22 students in attendance on any given day is the same as for only 18 students in attendance. The cost to light that classroom is the same for 22 students as 18 students. Providing support staff for the school remains a fixed cost whether attendance is at 100% or 90%. The difference is in funding from the state. Attendance has a substantial financial impact on the District.

Overall, the classroom capacity of the District in light of the bond programs will be sufficient to meet the needs of the District for the foreseeable future. Periodic adjustments in attendance zones may be necessary to maintain balance and efficiency of use. And of course, there will be ongoing maintenance needs for existing structures. It should also be noted that the allocation in the bond for Campus Capital Improvements does not address all of the current needs. The needs outweigh availability of funding and at some point in the future will need to be addressed.

With community support, other attractions could be added to the district events center.

Operating two high schools on two campuses will not pose higher operating costs than operating one high school on two campuses. The physical size of the two high schools will not be substantially different from the existing facilities. However, newer facilities should offer greater energy efficiency and therefore lower utility bills.

The additional middle school and two elementary schools will require additional administrative staff for the campuses. Strict adherence to staffing ratios will minimize the impact. The addition of the new schools will mean lower enrollment totals at adjacent schools. This will offer the opportunity to shift teaching positions to the new schools.

The State of Texas supports the operation of new schools with one-time allocations of $250 per pupil attending the new school and a second year allocation of $250 for additional new students at the schools. This will offset the costs of library books, desks, etc. Other costs associated with opening the schools may be offset by moving existing furniture and other equipment from existing buildings.

There is data to support the concept that students who are involved in extra- and co-curricular activities tend to achieve more academically, have more regular attendance, fewer discipline problems, and ultimately develop leadership skills. Participation in such activities may be limited by the availability of facilities. Additionally, the facilities proposed in the bond program are typical of facilities found in comparable districts across the state.

District facilities are typically available for use by members of the community when the facilities are not in use for the benefit of students. This includes recreation sports leagues, the casual tennis player who uses a court after work, the people who walk the tracks for personal fitness, and the civic group in need of a meeting place.

The recent legislation to compress the tax rate has placed all Texas school districts on basically the same level for general operating taxes. District tax rates will range for $1.00 to $1.04 for general operations. Where the differences come into play are in the area of debt service. For years, the VISD debt service (Interest and Sinking) tax rate has been lower than the state average. For example, in 2005, the VISD debt service rate was 9.75 cents. The state average among districts with bonded debt was 15.6 cents.

Each year, the amount of construction and capital improvements funded by school districts across the state increases. Therefore, it is a safe conclusion to draw that the VISD debt service rate will continue to be below or just at the state average.

One could also note that the quality of education offered in a school district is a key component in attracting economic development. A quality work force depends upon a quality education system. If a community is attractive to new business, the tax base expands with new investment, potentially resulting in a decrease in the tax costs and a reduced cost of doing business.

Even though the construction industry is experiencing very high rates of inflation, consultants to VISD have indicated that the buildings can be completed within the budgeted ranges. The proposed school buildings will be designed with economy in mind, but will still be of a style and quality worthy of community pride.

No land has been purchased for new schools. VISD is already in ownership of a tract of land on Lone Tree Road between DelMar and John Stockbauer Dr. That land is the planned site for one of the proposed new elementary schools.

One high school is planned for an area generally on the east side of the district. The other high school would be located on the west side of the district.

No location has been selected for a middle school, but it would be generally located in the area that we are calling the West Learning Community.

Enrollment at north side schools would be addressed through the location of another elementary campus in the areas of new development. There is some anticipated growth in the southeast part of the district and O’Connor Magnet School does not have the capacity to experience growth in enrollment. If the new elementary is constructed at the planned site, some students who are currently attending Smith Magnet School, but who reside closer to the new school would be able to be rezoned. This would serve to alleviate some of the crowding at the Smith Magnet School campus.

Data from the Harris Interactive survey gauging customer satisfaction tends to indicate that one of the reasons enrollment is declining in VISD is due to dissatisfaction with our secondary schools. The satisfaction ratings for Memorial High School are quite low.

The current configuration of Memorial High School is ninth grade students are located on the MHS Stroman Campus and students in grades 10-12 are on the MHS Senior Campus. In previous years, grades 9 and 10 were on the Stroman Campus and grades 11 and 12 were on the Senior Campus. Moving the 10th grade from an overcrowded Stroman Campus to the Senior Campus served to move the overcrowding problem.

Many elementary campuses are at or over capacity. A major revision in attendance zones last Spring resulted in some equalization of enrollments, but we still have two elementary campuses with enrollments over 600. Six other elementary schools have enrollments well over 500 students. The VISD goal is to create elementary enrollments averaging 500 students.

To accommodate growing student populations over the years, VISD added portable buildings to schools. There are currently 11 portable classrooms at Crain Middle School and a total of 66 portables are in use throughout VISD. Portable buildings create classroom space, but do nothing to address the support facilities such as libraries and cafeterias. In those support areas, many of our elementary schools have already exceeded practical capacity.

Feeder schools create the backbone of the Learning Community concept. The feeder pattern is created by having specific elementary schools “feed” into a specific middle school. The students at a specific middle school “feed” the high school. The configuration allows groups of students to remain together from elementary through high school.

Structurally, many of our schools are still strong. However, the buildings that were constructed 50 to 60 years ago were not designed with energy efficiency or technology in mind. Electrical service is frequently inadequate for technology. Utility bills run higher with classrooms that were originally designed for natural ventilation without HVAC.

There are no plans to cease use of buildings. The proposal includes re-use of existing space. The more than century-old Mitchell School Building would be vacated, but the Superintendent is proposing a community-based committee make recommendations for future use of the historic structure.

Memorial High School, as it exists today, would cease operations upon completion of two new high schools. Some facilities at Memorial High School Senior and Stroman Campuses will no longer be used for classrooms and may be designated for some other use. The MHS Stroman Campus would become the Victoria Area Advanced Learning Center and the MHS Senior Campus would be converted into a district events center. The Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) currently located at Mitchell Guidance Center will move to a different location if the bond proposal passes. A community-based committee could then study options for continued use of that building.

There are no plans to close any elementary or middle schools.

Exact figures cannot be provided until the bonds are actually sold. However, financial consultants First Southwest developed a schedule showing a total impact of 20 cents on the debt service (Interest and Sinking) tax rate. The 20 cents would be phased in over a three-year period as the bonds are sold. The 20 cent figure is considered the “high end” amount and could be lower depending upon market conditions when bonds are sold and possible state financial assistance.

First Southwest is a nationally-recognized investment banking firm that was founded in 1946. The firm serves as an advisor to businesses and governments across the nation.

First Southwest has offices in eleven states. The consultants who work with VISD are primarily housed in the San Antonio office.

The roofs covering Victoria ISD buildings add up to about 2 million square feet of roofing. No single bond issue has ever been intended to replace all of the roofs at one time.

The last bond issue in VISD was almost ten years ago. In the interim, some roof materials have been replaced as part of routine maintenance and other major projects have forced the district to seek alternative funding such as maintenance notes.

Most of the roofs in VISD are basically flat, built-up roofing. The life expectancy for roof projects of this nature is 15 to 20 years.

The projected impact of 20 cents on the tax rate is based on a scenario created by the financial advisory firm of First Southwest. The scenario calls for the bonds to be sold over a period of three years. No one can accurately predict what interest rates will be when the bonds go to market. In an effort to not be misleading, the financial advisors used interest rates that are higher than the current market. If there is an increase in market rates, the projections will be accurate. If interest rates do not increase, the tax rate impact can be lower.

Another factor that may come into play is assistance from the state. At this writing, the Legislature has not passed a final budget for the coming biennium. In years past, the state has provided financial assistance to local districts in paying for bond projects. In 1997, for example, the state agreed to provide almost one-third of the funding needed to pay back the bonds. This significantly lessened the tax rate impact.

Yet another factor that will come into play in terms of tax rate impact is property value. As Victoria experiences significant economic development and property values increase, the tax rolls will increase and the tax rate in support of debt service could decrease.

No. There are no plans to close any elementary or middle schools. Memorial High School would cease to operate as one school. Two new high schools would take the place of Memorial.

The line that was on the newspaper map was only an illustration of what the learning community line could look like. Because there are already 15 elementary schools in existence, drawing attendance lines that would completely remain within one learning community or the other will be difficult. At this point, there is no way to predict where all of the lines could be drawn for attendance on any grade level. Some of the attendance zones may have to cross the learning community line to provide for the greatest efficiency in building use and transportation.

Remodeling facilities extends the life expectancy of a building by about 15 years, according to engineering consultant, Dr. Ned Walton. New facility construction has a life expectancy of 50 to 60 years.

Generally, the cost of renovation is one-third to two-thirds of the cost of new construction depending upon the work performed. In some cases, renovations are the most cost-efficient approach. In other cases, the renovation is not cost-effective.

For some schools, there will be renovations based on a priority listing. Those projects would be covered under the $19 million set aside in the bond proposal for capital improvements. Those funds would address the most critical needs.

In other situations, easing an overcrowded situation will alleviate some of the pressure on a facility and major renovations would not be needed. When prudent, there will be some demolition on campuses, such as Crain Middle School where some of the facilities are not proposed for renovation. A new wing at the school would replace some of the outdated facilities there.

The long-term plans for facilities no longer used for classrooms will include moth-balling some areas so as to save money in utility costs. In other situations, community groups may recommend a reuse for the facilities that can be handled in a cost-effective manner that is beneficial to the district and the community, as a whole.

There are 66 portable buildings in use in VISD at this time. Typically, the buildings are somewhat energy inefficient and pose safety and security issues. Additionally, if you look at some of the portable buildings in use at the MHS Senior Campus, you might notice that students and teachers must walk across an uncovered area on a parking lot to reach the class. This poses a health and comfort issue on cold and rainy days.

In practice, portable buildings are rarely portable. Electrical service must be brought out to the site of the building. In many cases, covered walkways are constructed leading to the buildings. Handicap accessibility must be addressed through ramps and decking. Site preparation includes ensuring drainage so water does not pool under the buildings causing the potential for deterioration of the structure or the growth of molds and providing a location for the breeding of mosquitoes.