It has been a busy and productive summer so far for Temple ISD. The first 2022 bond sale occurred on June 28th. We wanted to sell before July 4th weekend because all signs point towards higher interest rates after the holiday. The first sale is only $100 million of the 164.8 million. As a governmental entity, we have a duty to care for our taxpayers and manage bond sales in a sensitive manner. Using the strategy of multiple bond sales over periods of time not only makes the tax impact smaller, but potentially nonexistent due to the growth of our tax base over those years.
After a series of budget workshops in June reviewing revenues and expenditures and tax rates, the Board of Trustees adopted a balanced budget for the 2022-2023 school year that include the following highlights:
The projected tax rate is LOWER than last year by almost 2 cents - even with the first 2022 bond sale.
Competitive compensation and equity adjustments were made for both professional and non-professional positions district-wide.
Safety and security provisions that include hiring three additional security guards.
The TISD board of trustees conducted architect interviews for the Bond 2022 projects on June 16. Eighteen firms responded to the district’s request for qualifications and eight candidates participated in the interview process. Three architects were selected by the board to complete the bond projects including local firm – MRB Group – who submitted their proposal in partnership with Grace Herbert Curtis. In addition, two local construction management firms – Cloud Construction and Emerson Construction—were selected this spring for the bond projects along with American Constructors and Hill & Wilkerson. The other two architect firms selected by the board of trustees are Stantec and PBK.
Specific projects will be assigned in the coming weeks with the exception of the new elementary school campus which was awarded to Stantec and the elementary security vestibules, which was awarded to the MRB Group as these have been identified as priority projects by both the community and the district. Planning for these projects has already begun and construction will be underway as soon as possible.
In addition, non-architect driven projects that are currently being planned or in the board approval phase are as follows:
We will continue to provide updates on all of these projects as we progress through the planning and construction phases.
Sincerely,
Bobby Ott
