ECTOR COUNTY, Texas — Discussion on a bond for Ector County ISD began Thursday night as a new ECISD bond advisory committee met for the first time.
This kicks off a months-long process that will eventually lead to a bond committee recommendation in the Summer.
The committee consists of about 150 people from around the community, and Thursday night was just the start of teamwork and collaboration in order to put together a bond package that would benefit ECISD.
At the meeting, members of the community along with other leadership got the ball rolling in regards to an eventual bond package proposal later on in 2023.
The Ector County Independent School District has not had a bond pass in over a decade, and there certainly will be challenges to overcome.
“Probably the biggest challenge to the bond process is our list of wants and needs is really large, and the money available is not as large as the needs that we have, and so, it is prioritizing our needs and creating a package that the voters will appreciate," said ECISD Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri.
As the committee looks to provide a bond package proposal to the board of trustees, and from there to a bond election in November, there is one main goal in mind.
“The goal is for us to understand very specifically the needs of our students, and to create facilities that address the needs of our kids, and so, by the Summer, by June, the opportunity this bond committee has is [to] design a bond package that effectively meets the needs of the 33,500 kids that we serve in Ector County Independent School District," said Dr. Muri.
As for 2023, Dr. Muri is excited to keep the progress moving forward after the school district has made strides as of late.
“So great success," said Dr. Muri. "We have the highest graduation rate we’ve had in over 20 years. We’re now a ‘B’ rated district for the first time ever. Our college, career, military readiness is at 65%, which is equivalent to the state of Texas, one of the highest in the region. We have the highest starting salary for teachers in the entire region, so a lot of accomplishments that have been made in the system over the last several years.”
Dr. Muri said that none of that progress happened by accident, but rather by intentionality.
He said that next month’s meeting will have a demographics report, which will be a critically important step early in the bond creation process.