Eagle Pass ISD Board of Trustees Consider School Bond Election for Improvement of Facilities
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2025
The Eagle Pass Independent School District Board of Trustees heard a presentation by the District’s Facilities and Improvement Committee co-chaired by local attorneys Claudio Heredia and Catrina Purcell-Longoria on Tuesday, November 11, 2025 at its regular board meeting held in Eagle Pass, Texas.
A committee of 18 local distinguished citizens was appointed in May 2025 by the District to participate in the Eagle Pass ISD Facilities and Improvement Committee to review the needs and status of all District campuses and facilities together with District Architect Davis Powell. The Committee met over the course of the past five months to meticulously review each District facility and determine what are the greatest needs for each as well as what are the present needs of the over 13,000 students.
Co-Chair Claudio Heredia stated the Committee focused on the priority needs of the school district and students, which resulted in principally requiring improvements to many facilities as well as upgrading facilities with the latest technology, security systems, accessibility for students with disabilities, and replacement of existing roofs and heating and air conditioning systems.
Co-Chair Catrina Purcell-Longoria added that the Committee had focused on three themes in their review: safety, security, and accessibility for all students, particularly for disabled or handicapped students and staff.
Heredia noted that the Committee had identified a total of 176 projects requiring attention for renovations, improvements, upgrades, demolition, or new construction to meet the present and future needs of the District. Heredia added that the Committee found that at least two existing campuses need to be replaced with new facilities to be constructed: Early Childhood Center and Kennedy Hall. The Committee also reviewed the possibility of closing Juan Seguin Elementary due to low student enrollment and demographic changes in the neighborhood.
Purcell-Longoria noted that the Committee reviewed the cost for construction of a new replacement elementary school at an estimated cost of $19 million and the cost to build an indoor Natatorium at $8.75 million.
Purcell-Longoria highlighted that the total 176 projects requiring improvements or reviewed by the Committee have an estimated cost of $150 million. If the District were to build only the top 100 projects, the estimated cost would be $122 million; the top 50 projects estimated cost would be $88 million; and the top 25 projects estimated cost would be $78 million. Thus, the estimated request for a school bond election would be between $78 to $150 million.
District Financial Advisor David Gonzalez of San Antonio, Texas presented a financial analysis of the District’s total debt and tax impact of the issuance of school bonds up to $150 million. Gonzalez noted the District has a total debt of $34 million, the lowest among school districts in the region. He noted the District also has the lowest tax rate among regional school districts. He added the Eagle Pass ISD enjoyed a high credit rating by Standard Poor and Fitch Ratings of A-1, A Plus, and A-2, ensuring lower interest rates in the event it issues school bonds.
The last time the District issued school bonds was in 2007 when voters approved to issue $22 million in bonds to build the Student Activity Center complex. Between 2017 to 2025, the District has paid in cash for capital projects in the amount of $90 million, a high amount of cash funded projects from general revenues instead of school bonds. If the school district voters were to approve the issuance of up to $150 million in bonds, it would increase an average homeowner of a $200,000 home its monthly tax bill by approximately $9 per month.
District Bond Counsel Juan F. Aguilera and Humberto Aguilera of the law firm of Escamilla and Poznecki of San Antonio, Texas presented the time deadlines for the School Board to call for a Bond Election in 2026. Under Texas law, a school bond election are held in May or October of each year. If Eagle Pass ISD were to proceed with a bond election, the preferred election date would be May 2, 2026. The School Board would have to approve a call of a bond election by no later than February 10, 2026.
The School Board listened attentively to the Committee’s presentation as well as those of their Financial Advisor David Gonzalez and legal counsel Escamilla & Poznecki and took the matter under advisement for future discussion and action.
