Fort Bend ISD trustees considered tapping 2023 bond contingency funds for a state clean-bus grant at their Monday, Aug. 31 meeting.

The district's seven-member board also weighed a $1,356,751 increase to an existing school bus purchase contract and a drainage easement agreement with Fort Bend County. The items affect families across the district, including those at Elkins High School in Missouri City and other campuses.

According to the board's posted agenda, the administration asked trustees to approve using 2023 Bond Program contingency dollars to support the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Clean School Bus Grant. No specific dollar amount was listed.

The contingency draw adds to a pattern this year. In June, trustees considered up to $1 million for elementary school parking. In July, they weighed up to $553,115 for a portable classroom and parking expansion at Travis High School in Richmond.

Those draws come against a backdrop of bond-program strain. Voters approved Fort Bend ISD's $1.26 billion bond in May 2023, but district staff later disclosed a $163.2 million cost overrun caused by failing to adjust estimates for inflation, Community Impact reported. Trustees voted in October 2024 to unlock up to $33.08 million in contingency funds from the 2014, 2018 and 2023 bond packages. A 2019 state law restricts 2023 contingency dollars to projects within the same proposition.

Drainage easement at Travis High School

The agenda also included a proposed Harlem Road Expansion detention pond and drainage easement agreement with Fort Bend County. The deal would grant the county perpetual, non-exclusive rights to expand and use the existing detention pond on the Travis High School campus. Board President Kristin Tassin or a designee would be authorized to negotiate and execute the agreement.

Travis is among three Fort Bend ISD high schools facing overcrowding, along with Elkins in Missouri City, according to Houston Public Media. The board is expected to vote on boundary changes by October.

Bus contract increase

Trustees considered raising the school bus purchase contract by $1,356,751, bringing the total not-to-exceed amount to $6,994,155. The extended contract would fund bus purchases through September 2028.

The TCEQ's Clean School Bus Program, part of the state's Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP), had $16.3 million available statewide for bus replacement and retrofit projects as of an October 2025 funding cycle.

What's still unknown

The agenda listed other items, including approval of new library materials posted for public review since July and a personal services contract exception for K'Nara Coleman to perform work for the National Literacy Institute.

Meeting minutes and vote tallies from the Aug. 31 session had not been published as of Tuesday, Sept. 1. Superintendent Dr. Marc Smith leads the district's administration.