A Mercedes school district slideshow describes in detail the costs and modifications associated with transferring the Mercedes Early College Academy into the district’s administration building for the 2022-23 school year, a move the board approved last week.
The total estimated expense of that move, $1,203,373.80, was referenced in a ballpark manner during last week’s board meeting, though the information in the slides details a variety of other costs associated with the move, including lost instructional minutes and new annual expenses.
MECA’s location has been a hot topic in Mercedes in recent months.
In early 2021 the district opted to move students from a previous facility with lacking conditions onto the Mercedes High campus at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, a move that was not universally popular.
Trustees voiced concerns over keeping one of the district’s most academically productive institutions successful when opting for another move in a split vote last week.
Opponents to the move expressed concerns over costs associated with it. Board President Oscar Hernandez said he felt the district has sufficient funding for the move, characterizing it as an investment for a district that’s lost some 1,000 students over the past six years.
“Guys, we have to do something,” he said. “We’re losing 200 students a year. If this is going to be an investment … it’s about falling back to trying to make a marketable ploy for our school district.”
That investment won’t come cheap, certainly not as cheap as last year’s move. In fact, the district expects the upcoming move to be more than 10 times as expensive as the previous one.
Moving MECA from the old Graham building to Mercedes High cost some $134,150, most of it related to a portable relocation, although that number doesn’t include manpower costs associated with moving furniture and supplies.
The biggest chunk of the significantly more expensive new move relates to outfitting a TDA compliant kitchen at the facility, a project the district estimates will cost $445,169.97.
The district also estimates that paying salaries and benefits for a food service manager and three food specialists, who will need to be hired to staff that kitchen, will cost $104,070.
The presentation includes a high school dual tuition cost trend analysis, and based on previous school years, the district expects to spend $371,197 in tuition.
The move is expected to cost some $114,190 in yearly transportation costs as well. As many as 10 shuttles between the new site and Mercedes High are expected to require five additional bus drivers, whose salaries and overtime pay are estimated to cost $110,875.
Fuel expenses for those shuttles are estimated at $3,315.
Transportation is also expected to have a travel time impact on students, with the district estimating losing between 3,500 to 10,500 in instructional minutes.
The district is also expecting to incur $134,150 in facilities expenses, and undetermined costs include the cost to remove culinary equipment and repairs to administration buildings for services like human resources, special education and administration.
Recurring costs for tuition, utilities and staffing at the campus are expected to cost $2,123,989.58.
Trustees were somewhat critical at last week’s meeting that the information in the slideshow wasn’t presented to the public during the discussion on the move.
