CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Gregory-Portland Independent School District proposed an alternative to the $242 million bond that residents voted down in November -- one that they said won't raise taxes.
The new proposed school bond comes in at $176 million -- a lower price tag of about $66 million less.
Some of the major items taken out were the multi-purpose center and field house as well as the visual and performing arts center.
12 projects are included that the district has marked as urgent needs.
One of the 12 items is a replacement campus for T-M Clark Elementary on Memorial Parkway.
T-M Clark Principal Melinda Pena said the school requires extensive work. She pointed out one classroom that is currently off limits because of mold and humidity issues caused by a leaky roof.
"Rather than continuing to put students and teachers in here, lets put it as our storage room, that way we don't put our students and faculty in an unsafe environment," she said.
Third grade math teacher Jennifer Nohavitza told 3NEWS that T-M Clark used to be a middle school -- and was never meant to house elementary students.
For example, there are lockers in the hallway.
"Typically in an elementary classroom you have cubbies, where the student has their own space to put their things, that helps with the safety issue as well. The children aren't out in the hall," she said.
Instead students are using those hall lockers to store their belongings.
"Some of them are too short at the beginning of the year to use those top lockers," she said.
Nohavitza's daughter Paige is also a teacher at T-M Clark. She said there are also space issues in the classroom.
"It gets pretty tight. Imagine having 22 students in here, myself and sometimes I have another co-teacher in here," Paige said.
A district repair list indeitifed signs of roof issues, a need for technology infrastructure, and issues with electrical, security and HVAC systems.
Educators told 3NEWS that the problems are a reflection on the aging building.
"It doesn't meet the needs of our campus in our modern times," Pena said.
Gregory-Portland Superintendent Michelle Cavazos said the district re-evaluated the failed November bond package, eventually trimming it for voters come May 6.
"It includes T-M Clark Elementary which is one of our urgent needs, a new maintenance and transportation facility, which includes a family resource center, that project is another urgent need," she said.
Cafeteria renovations at Austin Elementary and a culinary program expansion at Gregory-Portland High School are some of the other projects included in the bond.
If voters still don't agree at the polls over the new campus project, Cavazos said the district will have to make tough decisions.
"Then we would have to look at potentially relocating students. That facility will not be around in its current iteration much longer for student use. We will have to make some really hard decisions," she said.
Gregory-Portland ISD is also seeing a student boom. Within the next eight years, the district could see 6,000 more students, said one study. That would amount to a 24 percent increase in enrollment in less than a decade.
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