The new facility aims to provide employees with safe and adequate facilities, including accommodation for the Transportation, Child Nutrition, Maintenance, Shipping and Receiving Departments. The new facility would feature adequate workshops, warehousing, in-school bus parking, wash and fueling stations. The estimated cost is $5,485,000

As early voting is underway ahead of the May 6 elections, Chapel Hill voters will have to decide if they want to support approving a $113.9 million bond proposal that would fund new campus facilities and safety and security improvements.

With a total tax impact of $13.53 per month for a $100,000 house value, there are three propositions on the ballot. Proposition A would fund building a new junior high school, a new career tech facility, and classroom additions at Jackson and Wise elementary schools. Proposition B includes a new multipurpose activity center while approval of Proposition C would build a new operations facility for Chapel Hill ISD.

Breaking it down

Proposition A

A new junior high

With over 500 students at Chapel Hill Junior High, the facility is not only outdated but also inadequate for the school’s growth. From sharing a gym for not only P.E. class but for volleyball and boys and girls basketball teams, to a patch of grass for soccer, students and faculty are often compromising time and space.

“Everyone is making do with the space they have,” Chapel Hill ISD Communications Director Belén Casillas said.

The current facility, which houses seventh and eighth grade students and shares property with the high school, was built in 1974. The bond would fund moving the junior high to its own property, located at 3102 East Fifth Street in Tyler, with adequate acreage.

The recommended allocation of acres for a junior high school depends on the size of the school, but TASB’s recommended allocation of land is 30 to 35 acres. Chapel Hill Junior High School currently sits on 5 acres, and the property where the new facility is proposed is 37 acres.

“Students and faculty have been rotating activities, just learning how to coordinate with one another,” Casillas said.

One big concern is the walk from the junior high school to cross the street to the CTE (Career & Technical Education) building.

“We have school buses and trucks coming and going, as well as parents and visitors going in and out on that road,” Casillas said. “There’s inclement weather, and even school shootings are a concern. These are all safety concerns.”

The new property would accommodate students by providing sufficient space for academic classrooms, science and computer labs, music rooms, rehearsal halls, and a gymnasium with locker rooms to accommodate students.

A new career tech facility

Just across the street, the CTE building is 57 years old and has plumbing and electrical issues so problematic even the professionals can’t seem to fix them.

“The toilet overflows every day,” said Leigh Ann Crump, CTE coordinator at Chapel Hill High School. “We can’t use a lot of the outlets because the breaker shortens out. It doesn’t have the capacity that it used to.”

The 1966 facility houses the special education department including skills ready students, and 14 trade and career ready programs, such as welding, graphic design, culinary arts and engineering.

Trying to plug in welding materials, even hair dryers for the cosmetology class, can short out the whole building.

The proposed plan would fund the construction of a new facility connected to the main building and is designed to improve safety for high school students and provide adaptability for the new education model, the Academies of Chapel Hill, equipped with modern classrooms and technical workshops for 21st-century learning environments.

Elementary campus improvements

Also proposed is to build six new classrooms at both Jackson and Wise elementary campuses. The proposed plan adds new classroom additions connected to the main building which are designed to ensure secure and safe connections for students during activity transitions.

Proposition B

Construction of a multipurpose activity center

If approved, this would fund the construction of a new enclosed facility designed to provide a safe environment for physical wellness. It would allow students to participate in a variety of activities including 19 UIL organizations in the district such as band, dance, cheer and athletics.

The proposed location of the 57,000 square foot multi-purpose activity center is between Bulldog Stadium and the High School parking lot.

Proposition C

This proposes the construction of a new operations facility designed to provide employees with safe and adequate facilities, including the Transportation, Child Nutrition, Maintenance, Shipping and Receiving Departments.

The new facility would feature adequate workshops, warehousing, in-school bus parking, and wash and fueling stations.

Cost of projects

Proposition A

• Build a new Junior High School at 3102 East 5th Street in Tyler. The estimated cost is $60,373,000.

Build six new classrooms at both Jackson Elementary and Wise Elementary. The estimated cost is $4,326,000 for Jackson Elementary and $3,998,000 for Wise Elementary.

• Build a new Career and Technical Education facility connecting to Chapel Hill High School. The estimated cost is $19,938,000.

Proposition B

• Build a Multi-purpose Activity Center northeast of Chapel Hill High School. The estimated cost is $13,595,000.

Proposition C

• Build a new Operations Facility at 10777 County Road 210 in Tyler. The estimated cost is $5,485,000.

Understanding school funding

To gain a better understanding of everything that a bond entails, it’s important to consider how Texas public schools are funded.

Chapel Hill ISD, like all Texas school districts, has three main sources of funding. For Chapel Hill ISD, about one percent comes from federal programs and grants which are primarily focused on supporting disadvantaged students. About 53 percent comes from state revenue which are funds distributed to the district by the state based on calculations that consider enrollment totals, student demographics, property valuation and more. The remaining 46 percent comes from local property taxes.

When local property taxes are collected they are split into two separate funds: maintenance and operations (M&O) and interest and sinking (I&S). M&O funds cover the day-to-day operations of the district including salaries, utilities, repairs, transportation costs and more. It’s important to note that there are only enough M&O funds to cover the day-to-day expenses of the district. I&S funds cover the construction of new facilities, renovations and additions, land purchases and more.

For Chapel Hill ISD, the M&O tax rate is set at .91 cents per $100 of property value the I&S tax rate is set at .11 cents per $100 of property value. This brings the total tax rate to $1.02 cents per $100 of property value.

“Chapel Hill ISD was recently given an A rating in financial accountability for the 19th year in a row and regardless of the election outcome, we will continue to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and operate the district in a fiscally responsible and efficient manner,” Casillas said in a bond video.

Chapel Hill ISD’s recent bond history

Texas school districts are legally required to ask local voters for permission to sell bonds for district improvements. Bonds are presented to voters during elections to allow them to decide what projects their tax dollars will finance.

This bond referendum comes after a $125.24 million bond failed to pass last May. About 51% voted against Proposition A, which totaled about $113 million, and 54% voted against Proposition B, which was $12 million.

The last time a bond measure was passed for Chapel Hill ISD was 15 years ago, Board President Les Schminkey previously said.

The recent failure prompted a Facility Advisory Committee — composed of community members and staff of the school district — to evaluate the projects needed to improve the schools.

“We understand the weight of this decision. That’s why we want to lay out all possible facts,” Casillas said. “In order to avoid any mistrust, we put a lot of things in place, such as making sure a volunteer community group is part of the facility advisory committee. So, it’s a community-led bond, if you really think about it.”

The proposals are part of a project recommendation list presented by the Long Range Facility Planning Committee to the school board in December. The committee of approximately 50 local citizens and staff members reviewed an assessment of all the district’s facilities which was provided by Texas Association of School Boards Facilities Services.

There were recommendations of safety improvements and renovations to aging student facilities in order to accommodate the continued growth in student programs, extracurricular activities, fine arts, athletic programs and the new educational model at the high school called the Academies of Chapel Hill.

In preparation for any remaining funds, there is a 5% contingency fund that will work as a buffer for any possible increase for cost of materials or anything else that may not be specifically listed in the bonds but is needed.

If there are remaining funds from the successful passage of the 2023 Bond (Phase 1), the board will allocate those funds to the next project on the prioritized master facility list (Phase 2 and Phase 3) based on cost versus available funds. (i.e. If item nine costs more than the available funds, the board would select the next project that can be paid for with the left over funds).

The list was divided into three phases. Phase 1 includes all the projects that are proposed in the 2023 Bond, with the exception of the sewer project. Phase 2 and 3 are listed as priorities when funds are available.

Tax impact

Chapel Hill ISD has one of the lower tax rates in East Texas at a total of $1.02 per $100 of property value.

If all three propositions pass with majority “For” votes, the property tax rates will increase by .27 cents, or for a home valued at $100,000, the tax bill is estimated to increase no more than $13.53 per month.

Chapel Hill ISD does not control property valuations, which are carried out by the county appraisal district.

When to vote

Early voting continues from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Monday and Tuesday. Saturday, May 6 is Election Day. For more on early voting, click here. For sample ballots, click here.