BEAUMONT - A committee working to develop a Beaumont school bond proposal trimmed its massive list of potential projects slightly Tuesday, but the price tag remained unclear.
The Community Bond Advisory Committee plans to continue its debate Thursday about what projects and what size bond issue to recommend to the Beaumont school board, which would decide whether to order an election.
The construction price tag at the end of Tuesday's meeting stood at about $421 million, but that figure did not include allowances for inflation, contingencies, furniture and other costs added to earlier lists.
Tuesday's meeting at Roy Guess Elementary opened with a potential figure of $830 million, including inflation and other costs.
The district's legal debt limit is about $630 million, according to committee co-chair David Teuscher.
A major change Tuesday was the return of the idea of a fourth high school.
Gwen Ambres, co-chair of the high school subcommittee, said the new high school in West Beaumont would be designed to house 1,600 students with the primary goal of easing overcrowding at West Brook High School.
Carl Rabenaldt with 3DI of Houston, the district's consultant, said the cost of building a fourth high school would be about the same as expanding and upgrading the present three high schools to handle existing students and expected growth.
Another change from the last meeting was cutting costs by renovating Regina-Howell Elementary and Vincent Middle School rather than rebuilding as had been previously proposed.
The committee's list now includes nine new elementary school buildings. Three West End schools would be rebuilt, and one would be added. Ten East Beaumont campuses would be combined into five new schools.
Fletcher Elementary still would get 25 new classrooms, but minor upgrades at three newer elementary schools would come from the district's maintenance budget instead of the bond.
With a fourth high school, upgrades at West Brook High would be limited to new science classrooms to meet state requirements and an auditorium.
Ozen would get an auditorium, science classrooms and replacement of three old halls. Central High School would get new science classrooms, auditorium renovations and an expansion to eliminate portable buildings.
Some committee members argued that West Brook and Ozen also need updates to heating and cooling systems, an issue likely to be more fully discussed at the next meeting.
A proposal for a new district-wide stadium and natatorium (indoor swimming pool) at a neutral site remained on the list.
At the middle school level, the demolition of South Park Middle School and expansion and upgrade of Odom Academy and King Middle School to accommodate South Park students remained on the table. The committee also continued to endorse the idea of rebuilding Marshall Middle School and proposed more extensive upgrades for Smith Middle School.
On Tuesday, the middle school subcommittee proposed moving the Pegasus magnet program from Odom to Austin Middle School, which would serve only Pegasus students.
The district's last successful bond election came when voters endorsed a $56 million proposal in 1994.
In 2002, almost 62 percent of voters rejected a proposal to borrow $150 million for school building improvements. That bond election included a controversial proposal to spend $4 million on stadium renovations at Lamar University, where Ozen High School plays its home football games.
The school board has until March 12 to order a bond election for May 12. If the district misses the March deadline, the committee could continue working toward a November bond election.
bgallaspy@beaumontenterprise.com(409) 880-0726