Nearly $1B bond could go in front of Hays CISD voters

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – A nearly $1 billion bond package may go in front of Hays Consolidated Independent School District voters in May 2025. 

A fast-growing district, the district’s board has consistently called bond elections every other year. As it is written now, the bond election would be the highest-costing bond the district has ever seen. 

“In the most simple terms, we're growing. We're growing about 1,000 kids a year. We're projected to grow that many, if not a little more, every year for the next decade,” said Tim Savoy, a spokesperson for Hays CISD. 

“The urgent needs are classroom space and infrastructure,” he continued. "And not just adding new space, but maintaining older facilities and bringing them up to newer standards in terms of technology.” 

A fourth high school and eighteenth elementary school are among the projects included in the proposed bond. The new high school would cost nearly half a billion dollars. 

Savoy said he understood that some parents in the district might be startled by the large price tag attached to the bond. 

“Honestly, when we started getting the initial estimates, [the price] was kind of shocking to us, too,” Savoy said. “Construction costs in the Austin area and inflation have gone up.”

“We'd rather have a higher price and not need it than have a lower price and end up having to scale back what voters have voted for,” Savoy continued. 

The bond as written is not set in stone, and the district is seeking public input to help shape it. Hays CISD will host several in-person forums before the end of January 2025.