FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Per the bond order - $97,500,000 for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, and equipping a new (second) middle school. The upgraded capacity is for 1,200 ROISD students in grades 6-8.

The District already owns the land which is south of Ovilla Rd. about a quarter of a mile, between Westmoreland Rd. and S. Hampton Rd. The school entrance would be off Westmoreland.

Early voting will be from April 24 - May 2 (days/times vary). Election Day is Saturday, May 6 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The main building of Red Oak Middle School was built (originally at ROHS) and expanded for approx. 800 students, plus the west campus (originally Wooden ES) will hold another 400. With the added classrooms at the CTE facility (we moved some HS classes back to the main HS when we relocated some HS classes to TSTC and DAEP overflow will use portable classrooms instead of CTE classrooms) and expansion to portables if needed due to additional growth. So all included, the buildings can accommodate the current student enrollment of 1,600, but support facilities do not adequately support this high enrollment – cafeteria, bathrooms, band halls, locker rooms, etc. – plus programs limit student engagement due to high numbers.

With growth projections and the proposed addition of a 1,200-capacity school, the two schools would have enrollments of approx. 800 students each. Educational, ideal enrollment standards for middle schools are 1,000-1,200. This allows for students to find their way via programs offered – i.e. Instead of 1,600 students competing for the yearbook editor, lead theater role, spot on cheer squad or basketball team, Honors classes, etc. – they are competing against 800 and more engaged student body has better academic grades, attendance, and fewer discipline issues.

We have increased the size from 1,000 capacity to 1,200 capacity to best meet growth – allow for 800 additional middle school students and we are currently adding approx. 50 per year – so growth for 16 years. That does not just affect classroom space; it also affects the size of all areas such as restrooms, cafeteria, learning commons, etc. In addition, as you stated there is an escalation of inflation costs figured in. Hopefully, the project will come in under budget and not have to sell bonds for the full amount, but the District must be diligent in having the ability to complete the school by figuring in escalation costs should it be necessary.

Districts select an architect based on an RFQ – Request for Qualifications, not an RFP – Request for Proposal. Professional services (RFQ) allow districts to select the best match for services needed. Architect firms such as Corgan have staff who work across all segments to design and build facilities – commercial and educational. Corgan Education President Steve Hulsey has been the Corgan liaison with ROISD for multiple projects over 15 years, coming in on time and often under budget on projects including Red Oak High School, Shields Elementary (and again after the tornado), Ag. Science Project Center, and multiple other smaller projects.

https://www.redoakisd.org/cms/lib/TX50000033/Centricity/Domain/2834/Red%20Oak%20Middle%20School%20Slideshow.pdf

Red Oak Middle School is currently just under 1,600 students in a 1,200 middle school – 400 over capacity. Adding a second middle school at 1,200 students would have a total capacity of 2,400 students, which is 800 student growth. The average projected growth of 50 per year. The added capacity well exceeds a 10-year growth plan.

At this point, the priority is building the second middle school. After a bond is passed, and a second middle school is constructed, the District will be able to look farther down the road. It would make no sense to buy land for a third middle school before passing the bond for the second middle school. The District is in the design phase for the second middle school, a facility that would have the capacity to add on a wing and additional spaces. However, ROISD does own land for two additional elementary locations in the future.

Again, at this point, the priority is building the second middle school. After a bond is passed, and a second middle school is constructed, the District will be able to look farther down the road.

The past bond that failed addressed additional spaces through the Career Technical Education building at the high school, a second middle school, and additions to two of the Elementary campuses. We will need additional high school space and a new Career Technical Education building would free up space in the current high school to add capacity. At elementary, we have added four portables (two double classrooms so four classrooms each at Wooden ES and Eastridge ES) and will continue to study growth with our demographers.

This would be a question for those members. All Board Members in attendance on August 18 voted to call for the Bond Election, so that would indicate support of the Bond; however, you would have to reach out to them for a direct answer.

The previous bond did address long-term growth. As indicated above, the Nov. proposed second middle school would address 10+ years of growth. The priority at this time is the middle school and the voters indicated that is what they would support in this Bond election.

On the previous bond, the Career Technical Education building would have addressed growth at the high school, and the additions to the elementary campuses would have addressed growth at the elementary level.

We also have land for two additional elementary sites for when the time comes to address future growth.

The voters did not want multiple propositions; they wanted middle school only. The voters wanted a larger middle school. The voters wanted pre-bond design planning to see what the middle school would look like before voting.

There is not a legal conflict of interest in this matter. Each member's vote counts equally and each voice stands independently. They would only need to recuse if it was a personal conflict of interest, just as any other Board Member.

We are not currently looking to have a specific academic focus because the philosophy of ROISD is to have robust, neighborhood schools instead of application magnets. We will continue to offer STEM/STEAM, tech applications, Honors (Pre-AP), all fine arts (band, choir, theater, and visual arts), and all extra-curricular programs at both schools. Some larger school districts have an academic focus to reduce duplication, but we prefer well-rounded programming at the middle school level.

All bond elections are required by state law to include the wording “This is a property tax increase” whether the actual tax rate will increase, decrease or stay the same. If voter approved, this bond will not result in a tax rate increase due to the current ROISD bonding capacity. The amount already slated to be collected for interest payments at our current tax rate is projected to be sufficient to repay the debt on the bond.

State Required Bond Order Language:

THE ISSUANCE OF $97,500,000 OF BONDS BY THE RED OAK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSTRUCTING, ACQUIRING AND EQUIPPING A NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL AND LEVYING TAXES IN PAYMENT THEREOF. THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.

The District is able to issue the bonds to construct the middle school without raising the I&S tax rate, even after the 2022 I&S tax rate was lowered by 4.7%, for the following reasons:

• In 2022, the District has paid off two (2) separate series of bonds that have saved the Red Oak ISD taxpayers over $455,000 in interest cost and removed all future payments for these 2 series of bonds. By doing this, the District has created room to issue additional bonds that will be used to construct the middle school without raising the I&S tax rate.

• Since 2012, the District has refinanced eight (8) prior bonds that have saved the District taxpayers over $20.4 million in interest costs. A bond refinancing for the school district is similar to a homeowner refinancing their mortgage to lower their payment. These refinancings have lowered the future outstanding bond payments which will provide room to issue additional bonds.

• The taxable value of property within the District has grown over the last several years, with an increase of over 20% for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. It is this growth in the taxable values, along with very conservative projections for future growth over the next several years that provides the District with the sufficient I&S tax collections to make not only the current outstanding bond payments but also the payments on the new bonds at the current I&S tax rate.

• The issuance of the $97.5 million bond offering may be sold in several different transactions, based on the construction timing of the project. When the bonds are sold, the annual principal and interest payments can be structured to ensure that the annual payment, along with current outstanding bond payments, do not increase the tax rate, based on projected property values.

Bonding capacity varies based on many variables - just like a home mortgage - including interest rates, debt ratio, and other market factors.

Our debt ratio is very low, but rates are rising as are property values. The bond capacity fluctuates and it would not be sound to release a specific number until closer to the sale of bonds. However, currently, we are well over the bond election amount for November 8 which would mean no tax rate increase.

No. Red Oak ISD has very high ratings for financial transparency and has not had any corruption.

Red Oak ISD and the City exchange provided resources for mutually and community-beneficial reasons. For ROISD to upgrade the campus, a former intermediate, was expensive due to code requirements. We were able to exchange the property as is and area fields for the City to make community fields and a community center along with additional City amenities. The District acquired land for future schools and cash which was used for other facility upgrades and the ag facility.

The second middle school would include space for both electives and extra-curricular activities including athletics. We will use the gym foyer concessions and restrooms instead of building a separate building by the field. The middle school would have UIL 7th and 8th-grade athletics just as the current school does. We are using all current buildings and added seven portables this year to three campuses.