By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
ELLIS — The Ellis school board on Wednesday said it would not pursue a bond at this time, citing a declining economy.
The board created a Bond Exploration Committee in February, but the board members said Wednesday in a meeting conducted via Zoom they would not move past the fact-finding stage at this time.
The district had set interviews with architects for the project, but Superintendent Corey Burton said much has changed at the state and local levels in the last month and a half.
The Docking Institute did a survey for the district on a potential bond in November 2019.
However, bond committee Chairman Mike Keller said he did not think the data collected in 2019 is still accurate in the wake of the changes in the economy since the COVID-19 crisis.
"My guess would be if we ran an identical study survey today, we might get a little bit different result based on the economic condition in our community with the trifecta of oil and ag and just the general economy," Keller said.
That survey indicated the highest priorities of respondents were to repair rooftops and replace the HVAC system, plumbing and fixtures at Washington Elementary School.
"Our problems aren't going away in the district just because we have a somewhat temporary problem in the nation," he said. "Temporary is a strange word, but it will come and go and, at some point, it will be in the past. We will still have our school buildings and our school that we need to fix."
Keller suggested the committee still engage in fact-finding missions.
"I also think there may be some firms that are a little hungry out there than normal as far as architectural firms," Keller said, "or maybe construction firms that the bids might be more competitive. I don't think interest rates are going anywhere."
Keller said he also thought the district should move forward with an energy audit on both buildings.
"Our boiler isn't getting any newer. We're still going to need HVAC. We're still going to need science rooms even though we home-schooled," Keller said. "We still need roofs. We still need plumbing and fixtures at the grade school.
"It is just a bad situation when you combine the county passing their sales tax and then turn around and say they are going to increase their mill on property because their budget's messed up," he said. "And the school may have to increase its mill levy to makeup the shortfall in oil."
Ellis County is the largest oil-producing county in the state. Low oil prices have forced many producers to shut down wells. Any entity in the county that relies on property tax, including school districts, will likely see a reduction in tax revenue.
"I don't think there is anything else we could pile on here to make the condition and the timing worse," Keller said.
Board member Randy Honas said nothing has changed with the district's facilities in the last six weeks — but the economy has.
He said he supported continuing to gather information on a potential bond. If the economic climate would change, he said, at least the district would have the information.
Board member Cindy Hertel said she thought it was important to communicate to the public the district is just doing research.
"We don't want them to think we don't care about the economic situation," she said. "We also need to keep communicating that we have the same problems, and they aren't going away."
Board president Jared Schiel said, "There is nothing wrong with us furthering our knowledge and furthering where we are in the timeline to stay ahead of this thing."
Before the COVID-19 crisis, Schiel said the board had not planned to take the bond to a vote any earlier than 11 months out. He said more research will allow the board to move forward when members think the time is right.