Facing deficit, Fort Bend (Texas) board scraps plans for a new elementary
The Fort Bend (Texas) school board has voted to drop plans for a new elementary from the district’s 2023 bond program.
Houston Public Media reports that the board voted 5-2 in favor of eliminating construction plans for an elementary school in the Harvest Green community. The district needed to scale back its bond program after determining that the $1.26 billion package approved by voters in 2023 was projected to exceed its budget by nearly $133 million because of rising costs.
Administrators have been working to reduce the bond deficit and prior to the vote on the elementary school, had reduced the shortfall to about $80 million.
The district says that data from its demographer indicates that the school in the Harvest Green area would be underutilized through the 2033-34 school year and eliminating the new construction would also lead to better utilization at nearby campuses that are now under capacity.
Eliminating the project enables the district to save $47.6 million.
Board president Kristin Tassin said the elementary school was not financially feasible.
"We do not have the money to build this school," she said.
Board members have taken other steps to reduce the bond deficit. They voted to defer the construction of a new transportation facility. This action enables the district to reduce the deficit by $19.2 million.
The district also adjusted its plans for the Hightower High School Fine Arts building. The facility will be renovated, but no additions will be made to the building. This will reduce the deficit by $6 million.
The board also agreed not to replace grass baseball and softball fields with synthetic turf, as originally planned at 10 high schools. This will reduce the bond deficit by another $23.2 million.
