After receiving approval for all three propositions that were part of a $1.2 billion package, Garland ISD has taken its first steps to issue the first tranche of the debt.

Trustees in the Tuesday, June 13, Bond Committee Meeting recommended an action item to establish the parameters for a first debt issuance not to exceed $150 million, a yield rate no more than 6% and a 25-year maturation period.

Debbie Cabrera, a former interim chief financial officer of Garland ISD, presented an overview of the first sale that will allocate $129.2 million for Proposition A projects, $14 million for Proposition B projects and $6.8 million for Proposition C projects.

Javier Fernandez, director of facilities, planning and construction services, presented a timeline of projects broken into five phases. The first phase is set to be completed in early 2027 with the fifth phase finishing by late 2028.

Phase one projects include the multi-program activity centers at all seven high schools — the entirety of Proposition B — playground replacement at 15 campuses and baseball and softball field turf replacements. 

“I wish we could do every elementary playground replacement right out of the gate,” Fernandez said. “The way we’re doing the work is breaking the work up in three different phases.”

Portable removal and several security upgrades are also planned for the first phase.

Additionally, the district is also working on a plan to create an online platform to monitor ongoing and future construction projects relating to the bond, said Fernandez. 

“The district can gain a lot of reporting and dashboarding that we will work with our communication and IT departments to start showing our community so it can go to the website and see the work taking place,” Fernandez said. 

Some work has already been completed on the turf replacements for baseball and softball facilities, which will serve as a model on how to move forward when further architect and engineering firms are selected in August.

“We want to make sure that when we do this work, that our citizens can be very proud of the work that’s being done,” Fernandez said. “The work today is going to establish us for the future as we move forward with some of our facilities.”

To manage the bond projects, job postings for a bond management team have been created with more scheduled to go online in the summer months. Fernandez and his team are also working on selecting a new office location for the management team and a software to help manage the funding and construction contracts.

The district’s financial advisor from Hilltop Securities, Erick Macha, said he thinks the bonds will sell competitively because of an early entry into the school district bond market and the district’s high credit rating. There is also a dedicated fund, which has $50 million earmarked for repaying the first $150 million in issued principal. 

“A large portion of the $150 million will be repaid within the first year,” Macha said. “It’s very favorable for the overall plan of finance. It will allow us to shorten the term of repayment that we’re proposing, which will save around $6 million in interest.”

For the full story, see the June 22 issue of The Sachse News.