Comal ISD trustees received a comprehensive update on the district’s active bond and capital-improvement projects and on a new online reporting system during the March 27 regular meeting.

The presentation, led by Mark Stahl with construction director Jeff Smith and finance staff Glenn Graham, covered progress on projects funded by the 2021 and 2023 bond programs and described steps to post detailed monthly spending to a public Owner Insight dashboard.

Board members were shown construction status, budget-to-date figures and schedules for dozens of projects across the district. The update emphasized facilities work already underway — rooftop HVAC replacements, roof repairs, playground and sewer tie-ins at Timberwood Park Elementary; mechanical and roofing upgrades at Frye Heights and Oak Creek elementaries; the Mayfair Elementary build; Middle School 9 design work; athletic and site improvements at Canyon Lake and Davenport high schools; and the new Life Bridges campus in New Braunfels. Presenters reported partial completions and cited specific financial figures for several projects: Timberwood Park was described as “17% complete financially with $868,881 spent from the total budget of $5,148,720,” Memorial Early College High School as “9% complete with $79,100 expended from the $835,000 budget,” and system package elementary HVAC work as “6% complete with $1,555,651 spent from the $25,726,007 budget.”

Graham framed the reporting work as part of a larger transparency push tied to Owner Insight, a web-based owner’s-construction-management product the district is rolling out. “It’s a billion dollars, right? And so every one of those dollars needs to be accounted for,” Graham said, arguing that Owner Insight will let the public and trustees see project budgets, committed costs, change orders and invoices down to contract and purchase-order detail once the dashboard is complete. Finance staff said Mayfair and several other 2023 projects are already in the new system; older 2021 bond projects are being migrated and will appear as staff completes reconciliations.

Trustees asked technical and schedule questions. Board members pressed about Mayfair’s opening timeline (presenters said the building is on track to accept students in August 2025, with some ancillary exterior work possibly continuing), the timing for Middle School 9 (construction started in late January and the campus is slated to open fall 2027), drainage and parking work at Canyon Lake, and scheduling for non-bond athletic projects such as the Canyon Lake press box and bleacher expansion.

Trustees also discussed bond issuance capacity and debt-service limits tied to the district’s tax rate. Graham and other staff explained the 2023 bond was issued in multiple rounds because of annual debt-capacity limits tied to the district’s 35¢ tax rate; the district has sold a portion of the authorized 2023 bond proceeds and expects future issuances as capacity allows. Trustees and staff noted that the approach keeps debt-service rates stable but means adjusted budgets shown today reflect only funds already issued.

Staff described next steps: continued migration of 2021 projects into Owner Insight, ongoing monthly posting of updated financials, and a planned public dashboard. Presenters asked trustees for input on dashboard content and noted the Owner Insight view requires a public-facing dashboard build-out and logins; staff estimated the dashboard work could take several weeks to a few months to finalize.

The board did not take formal action on bond projects during the open session. Several trustees praised the level of financial detail and transparency presented and asked staff to continue posting monthly updates to the district website and to proceed with Owner Insight dashboard work.

Details to watch: timelines for the Mayfair opening and Middle School 9 construction, Owner Insight public dashboard availability, and future bond issuances tied to tax-rate capacity and property valuations.