The schools, planned for voter consideration in Bond 2007, are similar to Cypress Ranch and Cypress Lakes, currently under construction.  And there are some very specific reasons why the high schools in this bond package are budgeted at a higher cost than Cypress Ranch High School and Cypress Lakes High School (included in the 2004 Bond Referendum). Total projected cost increases are the result of unfunded state mandates and projected annual inflation rates, along with the facility additions designated and approved in the 2004 Bond Referendum for our high school students. Details follow:

• Construction inflation rates

The cost of construction has significantly increased in the Houston area and in Texas; the cost of school construction has increased at higher rates than general construction rates. According to Pat Kiley, Principal of Kiley Advisors, LLC, “In 2001, the Texas median school had yet to break the $100 per s. f. barrier”.
By January 2007, the median price of a Texas high school is $158 per s.f.

In 2007, a Pearland ISD high school cost $150.32 per s.f.
In 2006, a Humble ISD high school cost $145.91 per s.f.
In 2006, Cypress Ranch HS cost $123.23 per s.f.

• Additional spaces approved by the voters in the previous bond election

The additions of a music room and a multi-purpose space for each high school were approved by the voters in a separate proposition in the 2004 bond election.

• Construction of a practice pool at the high schools

These pools had originally been included in the budgets for the middle schools, but, in order to decrease transportation costs and increase accessibility, they are now being built on high school campuses.

• Legislative action – 4 x 4, college entrance requirements

The state legislature recently passed legislation which requires high school graduates who are obtaining the Recommended High School Program to take four years of high school science.  In addition, legislation was passed, requiring students who want to attend a four-year university in Texas to graduate under the Recommended High School Program.  To address this legislative unfunded mandate, seven additional science labs/classrooms were budgeted for all new high schools. (The funding for the addition of science labs/classrooms at our existing high schools is included in the renovation portion of the referendum.)

School construction costs

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