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Trustees with Port Arthur Independent School District are proposing two bond propositions, which total $300 million to be placed on the May 3 ballot.

Proposition A includes construction of a new middle school campus thus replacing both existing middle school campuses. The new school will have a capacity of 1,560 students.

Richard Bain with Claycomb Associates Architects explained during Thursday’s board meeting the costs to renovate the two middle schools are high and building a new campus is more cost efficient.

Renovating Lincoln Middle School would come with a $117 million price tag while renovating Jefferson Middle School would cost $209 million. The new middle school would cost $180 million.

A location for the new middle school has not been chosen at this point.

Also part of Proposition A is adding to the Career and Technology facility, doubling it in size while adding a number of programs some of which include auto transportation technology, pipe fitting, barber school, graphic arts, advanced manufacturing and engineering, engineering/computer aided design, cyber security and administrative programming. The cost comes in at $42 million.

Other projects included in Proposition A include a newcomers addition to be added to the administration building with a cost of $5 million. HVAC upgrades district wide and buses will be implemented with savings from projects, he said.

Proposition B calls for a new competition stadium with a capacity of 11,700 spectators. Current plans include new baseball /softball fields. The cost comes in at $73 million.

Bain said the stadium complex had to be placed in a separate proposition because Texas law now requires that certain types of projects have to be in their own standalone proposition, one of which is a stadium.

The stadium’s possible cost is based on timing and budgeted for inflation.

A bond committee was recently formed and headed up by Chairman Frank Neal and Co-Chairman Bernard Whitaker.

Both men thanked the board of trustees and Superintendent Dr. Mark Porterie for the chance to work on the committee.

Porterie addressed the committee members with matter-of-fact speaking. He told the group he is not political but he sees what is going on in the country and that “no one is going to help us if we don’t help ourselves, and we can’t blame anyone else.”

“Yes, I do feel that, yes. Our children need to learn how to work, how to get a job, how to be responsible, how to be accountable, and if this is what it’s going to take to do that, then so be it, because if we don’t teach our children, then this community will die, and we’re not far from that,” Porterie said.

Once the election is called the district will not be able to promote the bond propositions but can inform and educate the public.

“We will not tell anyone how to vote, but we are definitely going to put in their heads and their hearts. What do you want for this community?” he said.

According to information during the presentation, the district’s interest and sinking tax rate, or I&S, will not increase if voters approve the proposals.