Pilot Point ISD voters will see a $295 million bond on their ballots May 2.
In the Monday evening school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Shannon Fuller related the highlights of long conversations over the course of a year and a half with the bond committee about the district’s growth, finances and needed facilities.
In the next 10 years, Pilot Point ISD is projected to increase by nearly 2,500 students.
The proposed projects include the first phase of a new high school, a new elementary school building, and renovations across the district’s facilities, which would be funded by the $295 million bond.
PPISD CFO Brittany Floyd shared the estimated tax rate impact.
Her report stated that the bond proposal will approximately raise the district’s current I&S tax rate from $0.20 to $0.50 per $100 valuation, which equates to an annual increase of $630 per year for a home worth $350,000.
William Harrison expressed support for the bond election before the board voted.
“I want you all to know, I am definitely for a bond election,” he said. “I've looked at the figures [in] the board packet online this time. I know it's a lot of money, but I feel like our district needs to put forth this, looking forward into the future for our students to help ease all the overcrowding at this point in time.”
Harrison noted that the city's population is diversifying and steadily growing.
He encouraged the school board members to consider locations outside the city proper when establishing a new elementary school for students with longer commutes.
'I feel like we need to look out in these areas to put facilities for these communities, for the subdivisions and so forth, further on out and not just here in the city proper, to look forward and to not having our students ride 45 minutes to an hour all the time,” Harrison said.
The board unanimously approved the bond election for May 2.
Also on the agenda was the district’s response to Senate Bill 11.
The state gave the school board six months from the time the bill was enacted to “discuss and consider possible action to adopt a resolution adopting a policy requiring every campus to provide a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text.”
During public comment, Laura Thompson shared her excitement for the opportunity for Bibles to be brought back to schools and apprehension about what else it could bring.
'I’m just hoping that this doesn't open a door,” she said. “Since it says religious material, is that going to bring in other gods into our schools? Because God is our only God, and the Ten Commandments refers to that in both the first and second commandment, so I just hope that we'll watch that and make sure that it stays to be Christ-centered.”
Dr. Brant Perry, assistant superintendent of administrative services and operations, spoke on behalf of the administration and recommended the board decline to adopt the Senate Bill 11 resolution.
'The concern with Senate Bill 11 is that it moves schools into the position of organizing religion rather than simply protecting the freedom to practice it,' he said.
If accepted, the bill would require parents to submit waivers and would require staff to separate the students based on those permissions, and the administration warned against this, citing increased peer pressure to participate.
'Pilot Point ISD already supports the right of the students and staff to pray and practice their faith,” Perry said. “The district already complies with state and federal law. Senate Bill 11 does not expand those rights and may create unnecessary legal and practical concerns.”
The school board unanimously declined the adoption of Senate Bill 11.
In the superintendent’s report, Fuller discussed adding, “10 minutes to the instructional day for us to be able to have the second semester be the four-day work weeks” for the 2026-27 school year.
The recommendation was to add 10 minutes to the start of the day: from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with the rationale of starting earlier that it would minimize disruption to school activities.
Before presenting this change to the board, the proposal received unanimous support from transportation, athletics and campus principals, and the school board supported it with no further questions.
The school plans to go public with the information within the coming week.
Alicia Bonnett, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, brought a contract with AlphaBest for afterschool and nonschool day care to the board.
The program operates on a sliding scale based on families' income.
“If you're on free or reduced lunch, the discount will be anywhere from 15 all the way to 100% for our most needy families, which is really significant and makes us excited because right now everyone pays the same amount,” Bonnett said.
Families that don’t qualify for financial assistance will pay about $110 maxium a week.
An added perk, Pilot Point ISD staff will receive 50% off regardless of base price or family income.
Bonnett clarified that this program is specifically for school-aged children and is separate from the day care program.
The board unanimously approved the contract.
