San Felipe-Del Rio CISD outlines $18.6M of maintenance projects and a proposed $37M bond package

At the May 14 budget workshop, the San Felipe-Del Rio CISD facilities and operations team reviewed a series of maintenance requests, capital priorities and funding options tied to the district's fund balance and potential debt instruments.

Mr. Chapa opened the Facilities & Operations presentation and said the district was allotted $335,000 this year for HVAC/sustainability work and had spent about $270,000, leaving a roughly $65,000 balance. For the coming year he requested $580,000 for HVAC replacements at several campuses based on a Schneider Electric life-expectancy report.

Chapa described a recent fire-alarm panel failure at Chavita Elementary that required a temporary fire watch and said the district is proposing an initial $130,000 to begin replacing panels and failing sensors across multiple campuses to avoid repeat disruptions.

Trustees raised safety questions: Ms. Webb asked whether alarms are currently operational; Dr. Rios and administration said the panels are functioning but sensors are aging and the district is coordinating preventive replacements with Century Security to avoid larger emergency expenses.

Board members also discussed elevator incidents at Del Rio Middle School. Administration said both elevators had been serviced under the maintenance contract but one recurring issue with the emergency key/door mechanism remains under vendor review and additional funds would be requested only if a major replacement is required.

Chapa reviewed other requests: fencing (about $450,000) to match district standards at multiple campuses, $90,000 for athletic gym floor upkeep, interior painting ($210,000) and exterior painting ($115,000) for specified campuses, technology refresh items and vehicle replacements (roughly $150,000 for maintenance fleet and an additional $50,000 for technology vehicles). He said the district plans to buy used but well-maintained vehicles where possible.

Dr. Rios then reviewed maintenance fund balance and borrowing options. The district reported approximately $8,000,000 available after required reserves; administration presented illustrative maintenance tax note borrowing scenarios (e.g., $5,000,000 with an estimated $370,000 annual payment or $7,000,000 with an estimated $518,000 annual payment) that could expand the money available for projects without using a bond.

Administration listed candidate construction projects that could be funded from combined fund balance and borrowing: a connector road to relieve campus congestion and provide an alternate high-school egress ($4.2M), a water loop to improve campus water redundancy ($800,000), a Buena Vista cafeteria expansion ($2M), a Bobby Varela Elementary rebuild ($7M), an all-turf Del Rio High School baseball field ($3M) and a girls softball field drainage/upgrade ($1.5M). Chapa estimated the combined total for those maintenance/grade-able projects at roughly $18,550,000.

Separately, administration summarized a proposed bond package intended for a future May bond election that would include a full remodel at Buena Vista (listed at $5M), a New Tech Academy and a second gym at San Felipe Memorial Middle School and the rebuild of the freshman campus (the freshman-campus rebuild was described by the bond committee as the top priority and was estimated at $25M), producing a combined bond request of roughly $37M depending on final scope.

Trustees repeatedly said their first priorities were insurance and employee raises and asked administration to return with updated insurance quotes, revenue projections and energy-cost estimates before deciding which capital projects to pursue or include in a bond. The board took no capital votes at this session.

The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that was seconded and carried.