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SAN JUAN — The PSJA ISD school board voted to hold a $60 million bond election in November for needs around the district such as roofing and HVAC issues and a possible renovation of the athletic Osodome without a tax increase.

The board voted 5-1 Thursday on the resolution to have a $60 million bond election this upcoming November. Board member Griselda Quintanilla voted against the bond election.

PSJA ISD Superintendent Alejandro Elias said with the current needs throughout the district, there is no way the school budget can support the renovations and improvements needed.

Elias added that the district has done a needs assessment and knows which buildings require dire improvements regarding things such as roofing and HVAC.

“We’re looking at a bond that will also help us with bringing back the athletic dome, which is the Osodome at the old Bears area,” he said. “I want to bring it back to life … it would open up for more students to be able to use (for) more events. So, we’re looking at facilities that need a lot of renovation and just to bring the district back up to par.”

PSJA ISD has two domes that the district wishes to renovate and start using again. One is the fine arts auditorium and the other is for athletics. The renovation of the athletic Osodome could range between $4 million to $5 million, Elias said.

Giving an example of how costly roofing a campus would be, he said PSJA Early College High has 90,000 square feet of roofing, which could cost around $11 million to $12 million.

“When you’re looking at several buildings, it eats up the $60 million very quick,” Elias said.

Dustin Traylor from RBC Capital Markets, a financial advisor for the district, gave a presentation to the board regarding their estimated bond capacity if a bond election is held in November and on the district’s debt and tax rates.

Traylor explained how bond capacity is driven by the district annual debt service and other factors such as the taxable assessed valuation.

“(The district) has a strong history of that tax base increasing over time,” he said. There’s been additional growth here within the community.”

Traylor added that the district has done an outstanding job at refinancing bond obligations, which has resulted in lowered interest rates and lowered the debt service burden on the district taxpayer.

“It puts you in a good position for this (bond election) and the consideration you’re making this afternoon,” he said.

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