Seguin ISD trustee shares details behind decision to resign

(Seguin) -- A resignation is coming to the Seguin ISD Board of Trustees.

Seguin ISD School Board member Cinde Thomas-Jimenez says she’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

That response was made after folks were surprised to learn that she would be stepping down early from the school board.

On Tuesday, Thomas-Jimenez was given the opportunity to share her thoughts about her decision.

“I just want ya’ll to know, I did not win the lottery and I am not terminally ill. I’m just retiring from my job in July and my husband and I have purchased a home in another state. We are going to be making our way in that direction and so it took me a long time to decide that I was going to leave this board because I feel very strongly about all the work that we have done. I have been here for six and a half years. At any rate, I just wanted to let you all know that the board has discussed this and they have some options looking forward to finding a replacement. I’m not leaving tomorrow. I’m not leaving next month. It’s going to be a few months down the road. I just wanted to be able to discuss it with the board and I

Bond, continued.

“...or not they would support a baseball/softball facility. I think it was the largest bond in Seguin ISD’s history. There was a lot that that bond package entailed -- safety and security, a new McQueeney Elementary, Ag/ Science facility, Barnes expansion and the list goes on. So, you are limited in the amount of emphasis on any one part of that bond package. This would allow an opportunity to solely focus on that one facility keeping in mind that we do not have a baseball facility of our own -- most districts do,” said Gutierrez.

Perhaps one of the most important components of bringing the item back on the ballot is that the complex, if approved by voters in May, would come with NO tax increase. Hopefully, Gutierrez says this would allow voters to seriously consider the new turfed fields and help the district finally complete all the facilities for the high school campus.

“I know we had conversations years ago about some possibilities but a lot has changed in the last four and five years when you look at the cost of construction as well as just the way that the economy is and we had discussions and possibilities of looking at fund balance. Well the cost of building a facility like this continues to rise and I can’t imagine what the cost will be in a year or two or three down the road and if we get to a place where we do it in phases, well, who gets priority? Is it boys or is it girls? And so, we didn’t know it was going to turn into a big thing on the agenda and everybody getting phone calls -- myself included so if you have any questions, you can talk to me one on one. I am going to miss working with all of you. I can tell you that,” said Thomas-Jimenez. could likely end up in a place where we are making some difficult decisions but right now, we all know that those two programs are hurting and there is a strong desire to complete that high school package that we’ve been talking about since the high school opened,” said Gutierrez.

Thanking Thomas-Jimenez for her service on the board was Board Secretary Linda Duncan.

“Cinde, we owe you a debt of gratitude for all that you brought to this board and especially for stepping up in a time that was tumultuous in taking the reins and I personally want you to know that we are better off because of your leadership so thank you!” said Duncan.

Trustees met behind closed doors to discuss the resignation and options for replacing Jimenez.

No decision, however, was taken during Tuesday night’s meeting.

Now without raising the tax rate, district officials say they are still able to generate enough in tax collections to pay the debt that would be associated with the $7.5 million. Better explaining how the bond project would not increase the tax rate was Tony Hillberg, the chief financial officer for the Seguin ISD.

“So property values go up historically and in the last few years, property values have gone up a lot faster in this area than we’ve ever seen in the past. We are able to apply paying down debt early and so even with the tax rate that we’ve had, we’ve... Bond, pg. 3 continued.

“...actually collected more in terms of tax than what we needed and we used those dollars to buy down debt. When we buy down debt, that actually gives us more capacity. We have less debt to pay and therefore that coupled with the fact when we do a refinance, you wouldn’t do that unless your annual requirement would be going down and so that’s what we’ve taken advantage of,” said Hillberg.

Dr. Gutierrez says the complex itself would not only serve the students but would be a great asset to the community as a whole. The potential to host tournaments and other events make the fields a great investment.

“Part of the data that we want to try to get in partnership with the city’s economic development is just the impact that it is having on our economy. As we have now stated with the art facilities and we are able to host statewide or regional events whether it’s for fine arts or athletics, it is certainly having an impact on not only our district but on our local economy. But having a facility like this would allow us the opportunity to host different tournaments as well and even to look at expanding. There’s been a very strong interest in expanding the baseball/softball to the middle school. There have certainly been some limitations and in an effort to be competitive, you want to start to develop those skills early on and a lot of our students don’t have the opportunity to start in a Little League. Those things cost. It could expand opportunities for more students but we would certainly look at using this facility to host our own events for our students which we struggle to do,” said Gutierrez.

There’s been a very strong interest in expanding the baseball/softball to the middle school. There have certainly been some limitations and in an effort to be competitive, you want to start to develop those skills early on ”

- Dr. Gutierrez -

Seguin ISD Athletic Director Craig Dailey was also on hand Tuesday night to talk about the struggles of the district not having its own baseball field. He says a player on average spends 40 minutes a day traveling to and from the city-owned Smokey Joe Field at the Seguin Events Complex. He also provided the team’s struggle earlier that day when kids during the sunshine were bused to Barnes Middle School because the fields were wet. He says not only did they have to practice indoors but parents had to work through the trouble of going and picking them up after practice. On top of the inconvenience of having to go off campus to play ball, he says both the baseball and softball fields are in horrible condition. District officials say even some teams dislike having to come to Seguin because of the fields and the danger that they pose for their players.

The decision to call for the bond election was unanimous. District officials say the campaign for the new baseball/softball complex will get heavy as the weeks continue. Additional information is expected to be made available soon on the district’s website.