A lot has happened in the 3 1/2 years since a facility committee suggested Port Neches-Groves Independent School District needed new elementary schools.

Some new trustees came on board, a new superintendent was hired and new assistant superintendents were put in place. The area saw catastrophic flooding from Tropical Storm and Hurricane Harvey and an expansion was kicked off at Total Petrochemicals — all of which played a part in the school construction bond being placed on hold.

On Monday at the 5:30 p.m. meeting, not 7 p.m. as is the norm, at West Groves Education Center, Matt Marchak will once again address the board — this time with the recommendation of moving forward with exploring the possibilities of calling for a bond election to be placed on the November ballot.

Marchak was part of the original committee back in September 2015. He said there were some circumstances that put the bond off but he doesn’t believe anyone forgot about it. He said the topic needs to be picked up again.

Background

In 2015, facility committee members were tasked with assessing the district’s elementary schools. They had figures from a demographic study and facility study, tax rate analysis and tours of the facilities.

What they saw at that time was aging schools; the oldest built in 1948 and the newest in 1965. The schools had security issues as well as failing infrastructure including: leaky roofs; aging heating system; worn ventilation and air-conditioning systems; mostly original plumbing; and electrical problems.

The district currently has six elementary schools divided in the Port Neches and Groves communities. West Groves Early Learning Center houses Preschool Programs for Children with Disabilities and pre-kindergarten; Ridgewood, Taft, Van Buren and Woodcrest house kindergarten through third grades; and Groves and Port Neches elementary schools house fourth and fifth grades.

The recommendation was to go from six to four elementary schools — two in each city — as well as combining the Port Neches administration building, West Groves administration building and the alternative campus into one facility.

When Total Petrochemicals announced an expansion project, school district officials halted the bond talks in part to see how the construction would affect taxable values.

No set amount was placed on the bond at the time but estimates were between $120 and $130 million. The agenda item for next week’s meeting only calls for the board to move forward with exploring the possibilities of the bond election.

The last bond proposition approved by voters was in May 2007. The $123 million bond paid for renovations at the elementary schools, construction of two new middle schools, work at the high school and stadium renovations.