Members of the Brownsboro Independent School District’s Citizens Facility Advisory Committee will reportedly recommend to trustees building a new Brownsboro Elementary School west of town. File Photo A new elementary campus should be built west of Brownsboro, and Chandler Elementary School should be expanded a sixth time, the Citizens Facilities Advisory Committee will recommend to trustees in July.

“Our turnout was kind of light (on June 8), but the members who were there agreed they were ready to make a recommendation to the board,” Texas School Planning President Dr. Arnold Oates said. “In essence, it’s to build a new elementary school in Brownsboro, do a major expansion to Chandler Elementary, and then look at renovating the junior high while making Brownsboro Elementary part of it.”

The recommendation is “Option B” on the district’s opinion survey distributed to committee members in May. That scenario also includes renovating athletic space at Brownsboro High School and addressing electrical and technology concerns. Officials could add the construction of a fieldhouse on this proposition or a separate one on November’s ballot, Oates said.

Oates “The fieldhouse would allow us to convert the athletic areas inside the high school to classroom space. We’re going to put together a presentation for that — probably in a special called meeting in July.”

Chandler Elementary was built in 1969 and expanded five times between 1977 and 1995. Brownsboro Elementary was built in 1968, and it was expanded four times between 1972 and 1995.

Brownsboro High is the youngest campus of the group. Built in 1987, it has been expanded once. Brownsboro Junior High was built in 1981 and has never been expanded.

The committee’s choice varies slightly from administrators’ recommendation in April. That report advised that new elementary schools should be built in Brownsboro and Chandler and that Brownsboro High should be renovated.

It also recommended:

•Renovating Brownsboro Elementary “to make it a part of” Brownsboro Junior High School.

•Close Ingram Street during school hours and reroute parent drop-off to current bus drive.

•Renovate Brownsboro High to accommodate electrical and technology concerns and address athletic facilities.

•Use Chandler Elementary for ACES and/ or DAEP.

Brownsboro Elementary would be built on a 52-acre site 1.4 miles west of town. About 13,000 square feet would be added to Chandler Elementary.

Other proposals considered by the committee:

•Option A — Construct a new elementary school in Brownsboro on a site 1.4 miles west of Brownsboro; build a new elementary school in Chandler on a site near Chandler Intermediate School; renovate Brownsboro Junior High School and Brownsboro Elementary School to serve as a single junior-high campus; build a new fieldhouse with a weight room; use Chandler Elementary School for ACES/DAEP, adult education classes with Trinity Valley Community College or Tyler Junior College, and community meeting space for government agencies and citizen groups.

•Option C — (Proposition 1) Construct a new elementary school in Brownsboro on a site 1.4 miles west of Brownsboro; renovate Chandler Elementary to include a new administrative area, classrooms, library, updated/expanded cafeteria and renovation of current classrooms; renovate Brownsboro Junior High and Brownsboro Elementary to serve as junior high; renovate the high school to address electrical and technology concerns and the need for academic and restroom renovations in the physical education and athletic area; (Proposition 2) build a new fieldhouse with a weight room.

•Option D — (Proposition 1) Construct a new elementary school in Brownsboro on a site 1.4 miles west of Brownsboro; build a new elementary school in Chandler near Chandler Intermediate; renovate Brownsboro Junior High and Brownsboro Elementary to serve as junior high; renovate the high school to address electrical and technology concerns and the need for academic and restroom renovations in the physical education and athletic area; use Chandler Elementary School for ACES/DAEP, adult education classes with Trinity Valley Community College or Tyler Junior College, and community meeting space for government agencies and citizen groups; (Proposition 2) build a new fieldhouse with a weight room.

•Option E — (Proposition 1) Build a new elementary school in Brownsboro on a site 1.4 miles west of Brownsboro; build a new elementary school in Chandler on a site near Chandler Intermediate; (Proposition 2) build a new fieldhouse with a weight room; (Proposition 3) use tax rate election to fund renovations under maintenance and operations over a five-year period; renovate Brownsboro Junior High and Brownsboro Elementary to serve as junior high; renovate the high school to address electrical and technology concerns and the need for academic and restroom renovations in the physical education and athletic area; use Chandler Elementary School for ACES/DAEP, adult education classes with Trinity Valley Community College or Tyler Junior College, and community meeting space for government agencies and citizen groups.

Leon Johnson of Southwest Securities Group of Dallas advised the district not to seek more than $25 million in November — although the district has reportedly been approved for more than $42 million.

Southwest Securities Group estimates that a 30- year bond at $20 million would increase property taxes on a $100,000 house from $969 to $1,141.25. Comparatively, a 25-year bond at $20 million would increase property taxes on a $100,000 house from $969 to $1,157.52.

At $25 million, property taxes on a $100,000 house would increase from $969 to $1,203.22.

A 35-year bond at $20 million would increase property taxes on a $100,000 house from $969 to $1,130.18.

Texas School Planning was hired last October to consult the district on its capital-improvements plan. The student population has increased by about 60 percent over the last 20 years — a rate of 3 percent annually.