by Nicole Bradford
Pearland ISD has begun outreach to provide information to the public regarding two bond propositions on the May 4 ballot.
The school district has scheduled two community meetings this month that will include a question-and-answer session with PISD Superintendent Larry Berger, the first scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday (April 10) at Dawson High. The second public meeting will be 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, at Pearland High School Bullard South Lecture Hall.
The district’s listed $74.4 million in facility needs includes replacing or rebuilding deteriorated HVAC systems, roofs, and plumbing at campuses, as well as alarm systems and parking lot upgrades. Another $32.2 million in technology upgrades includes servers, storage, networking, and internet costs.
These facility and technology needs “far exceed the capacity of our operational budget,” Berger said, adding that neither of the bonds would impact the $1.13 per $100 of valuation school tax rate if passed.
By using debt to pay for technology and infrastructure costs, he said, the district can free up its operating budget to cover salaries and day-to-day operating costs.
More information about the bond proposals is available at pearlandisd.org/bond. Early voting begins Monday, April 22.
