School Board calls for $19M Bond Election
By a vote of 6-1, the Board of Trustees of the Friona Independent School District approved an motion calling for a $19 million bond election. The Board also hired the Underwood Law Firm as bond counsel. The call for a bond election was a result of over a year’s worth of consultation with the the architecture and engineering firm Parkhill, Smith, & Cooper; Vince Vialle of the firm Specialized Public Finance; and a local steering group of business owners, former teachers & administration staff, and community leaders.
The main priority during all of the meetings was student and teacher safety. Discussion topics included keeping kids off of Euclid Street & Highway 60, keeping students safe during bad weather, and safety issues regarding possible criminal activity near the schools. Another major concern was the aging electrical systems in each one of the schools.
The bond election approval occurred during the Board’s regular session held on Monday, February 11th at 7:00 p.m. in the Board Meeting Room of the FISD Administration Building, 909 E. 11th Street, Friona, Texas 79035. The meeting was called to order, an invocation was given, and a roll call was taken. The meeting began with an update from Parkhill, Smith, & Cooper concerning the proposed construction project. The final cost for the project was estimated to be $21.47 million. The Board discussed various funding options for the project which included a $19M or $20M bond, using available Permanent School Funds, and using existing FISD funds. After further deliberation, the Board concluded that the best formula to fund the $21.47 million construction project would be a $19 million bond, plus the $2 million from the Permanent School Fund, and $.5 million from existing FISD funds.
Details of the bond issuance, the proposed construction project, and their effects on taxpayers will be available in upcoming editions of the Friona Star. The goal is provide as much information as possible so that all voters can make an informed decision on election day.
Next up was the Consent Agenda and it included the Minutes from the previous meeting and reports on all of the various school financial accounts. The various summary reports were approved and the payment of the monthly bills was approved. The Consent Agenda was approved by an unanimous vote. The Board also heard state and federal reports, Principals’ reports and the Superintendent’s report.
In other business, the Board approved a change in allowable absences involving student extracurricular activities from 15 to 30, approved a contract extension for Superintendent Jimmy Burns, and approved the District Calendar for the 2019-2020 school year. The Board also approved the E-rate bid from WT Services for funding year 2019 and approved the Local School Wellness Policy assessment conducted by the Student Health Advisory Committee. The Board also met in Closed Session.
The agenda for this meeting can be found at frionaisd.com, the FISD website. The next scheduled regular meeting is 7:00 p.m. on March 18, 2019.
