Nearly $4.24B in bonds on November ballot for Central Texas schools
AUSTIN, Texas - Nearly $4.24 billion in school bonds is on the ballot this November.
Nine Central Texas school districts called bond elections for Nov. 8: Austin ISD, Coupland ISD, Dripping Springs ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Lockhart ISD, McDade ISD, Pflugerville ISD, Taylor ISD, and Waelder ISD. Austin ISD's bond package is the highest at $2.44 billion, and Waelder ISD is asking for the least amount at $13.745 million.
Austin ISD - $2.44 billion
Austin ISD requested a just under $2.44 billion bond package for campus modernizations, athletic complex upgrades, security upgrades and transportation. The bond package was passed by voters in the midterm election.
The bond package is split into three propositions:
- Prop A - $2,316,025,000 to fund projects such as school modernizations, security improvements and critical facility renovations throughout the district
- Prop B - $75,541,000 to fund technology upgrades such as student and teacher devices, infrastructure improvements and other technology upgrades
- Prop C - $47,434,000 to fund improvements to Nelson Field, Burger Athletic Complex, Delco Activity Center and Noack Sports Complex
The district says that the proposed bond package is expected to raise the debt service portion of the school tax rate by 1 cent per $100 in taxable value, but the district plans to reduce the maintenance and operations portion of the school tax rate by 6.5 cents this year because of rising property values.
The bond proposal will not affect the tax rate reduction for this school year, and property owners are expected to see an additional estimated 3-cent reduction in the school tax rate next year, for a total reduction of 9.5 cents over the next two years, says AISD.
Despite 25 schools being specifically named in the bond package, all campuses are expected to benefit from the bond, which also includes districtwide projects such as safety and security, technology upgrades and new buses.
Coupland ISD - $56 million
Coupland ISD is requesting a $56 million bond package to build a new middle school for 150 students with core spaces for 300. Also included in the package is a grass field with bleachers and a community walking track. As of 1:23 a.m. Nov. 9, the bond package is not expected to pass.
The district says the bond is to accommodate the growing number of in-district students, which has grown from just over 50 in the 2014-15 school year to around 282 students in the 2022-23 school year.
This is only the second bond package proposed in the district's over 100-year existence. The first was passed in 2019 to improve the main building built in 1912.
The district says the bond is not expected to impact senior citizens with an Age 65 freeze and no significant property improvements and a monthly increase between $20.24 and $87.73 for homes valued between $100K and $300K.
Dripping Springs ISD - $481.13 million
Dripping Springs ISD is requesting a $481.13 million bond package to construct new campuses, technology improvements, athletic complex improvements and more. As of 1:18 a.m. Nov. 9, the bond package is not expected to pass.
The bond package is split into three propositions:
- Prop A - $199.28 million to address district growth, including construction of a sixth elementary school, expansion of Sycamore Springs Middle School to 1,200 student capacity, campus security updates at all campuses, land for future district facilities, and capital maintenance projects on the district's oldest campuses
- Prop B - $275.35 million to build a second high school on Darden Hill Road to open for the 2026-27 school year and eventually accommodate 2,500 students
- Prop C - $6.5 million for technology lifecycle replacements, including student devices, staff devices and interactive panels in classrooms
Dripping Springs ISD says that due to rapid growth and increasing property values, taxpayers are not expected to see an increase in school taxes if voters approve all three propositions. The district's current tax rate is $1.3103 per $100 of property value.
Lake Travis ISD - $703 million
Lake Travis ISD is requesting a $703 million bond package for districtwide improvements to accommodate projected student enrollment growth. As of 1:19 a.m. Nov. 9, the bond package is expected to pass.
The bond is split into three propositions:
- Prop A - $548,410,330 for school facilities, necessary sites, and new school buses, including the building of two new elementary schools and a second new high school
- Prop B - $60,790,110 for school technology improvements, including staff and student devices, improvements to existing facilities in cabling, wireless, cameras, access controls, classroom and campus AV, network, telecommunications and classroom and campus AV for new campuses
- Prop C - $93,799,560 for school stadium facilities, including athletic facilities for the new high school and improvements to athletic facilities at Hudson Bend Middle School, Lake Travis Middle School and Lake Travis High School
Lake Travis ISD says that if the propositions are approved by voters, there will be no impact to the district's total tax rate.
The district says the zero impact comes as a result of paying down current debt prior to maturity. LTISD has reportedly saved taxpayers more than $120 million in interest through "aggressive debt management" over the past several years, resulting in increased capacity for future bond programs.
Lockhart ISD - $71 million
Lockhart ISD is requesting a $71 million bond package to purchase land for and build a sixth elementary school and add a new wing to Lockhart High School. If approved, the bond will help the district accommodate 500 more elementary school students and 500 more high school students, says the district.
Lockhart ISD says that approving the bond will not result in a school tax race increase for property owners, but if voters don't approve the bond, the Interest & Sinking school tax rate used to pay debt will remain the same.
In addition to the bond, Lockhart ISD also has a Penny Put-Back through VATRE on the ballot too, which the district says would enable voters to put back a penny into the Maintenance & Operations part of the school tax rate after the Texas Education Agency decreased the rate by 1.74 pennies for 2022.
If the Penny Put-Back is approved, the tax rate will only decrease by .74 pennies. The district says doing this will allow it to put nearly $1 million in funding towards student safety on campus and offering competitive pay to teachers and staff.
McDade ISD - $25 million
McDade ISD is requesting a $25 million bond package to fund essential core expansions and upgrades to district facilities. This is the first bond proposition MISD has put on the ballot in 20 years.
The bond is split into three propositions:
- Prop A - $2,000,000 for the purchase of necessary sites for school buildings
- Prop B - $23,000,000 for the design, construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, renovation, expansion, improvement and equipment of school buildings and the purchase of new school buses
- Prop C - a tax rate election (TRE) which would ratify the ad valorem tax rate of $1.0260 per $100 valuation for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of 38.22 percent in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the current year
MISD says that the estimated average annual tax impact for homes valued around $250K will be $942.06, with the estimated average monthly impact at $78.51. The bond will not affect senior citizens with an Age 65 freeze and no significant property improvements on their homesteads.
As of 1:24 a.m. Nov. 9, all three propositions are not expected to pass.
Pflugerville ISD - $367.604 million
Pflugerville ISD is requesting a $367,604,000 bond package to address safety and security, enhance technology and related infrastructure, accommodate growth in student enrollment, update aging conditions, address evolving student programs and equity across campuses, and provide affordable teacher housing.
In addition to the bond, PfISD is calling for an attendance credit election (ACE) and a voter approval tax rate election (VATRE).
Props A, B, C, D, E, G and H were all passed by voters in the midterm election. The ACE and VATRE were also approved Tuesday night.
The bond is split into eight propositions:
- Prop A - Attendance Credit Election (ACE) which allows the district to make the mandatory recapture payments required due to the increase in its property tax wealth through the purchase of attendance credit
- Prop B - Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) to approve four additional pennies to the District's M&O tax rate
- Prop C - $190,280,000 for school building additions and renovations, safety & security, land purchases and capital improvements
- Prop D - $54,000,000 for student and staff devices; districtwide network security upgrades, infrastructure improvements, and fiber-optic line upgrades; and audio/visual upgrades
- Prop E - $3,000,000 for renovations to Pflugerville High School Performing Arts Center and lighting upgrades at select campuses
- Prop F - $400,000 for wiring the Pfield for sound, headsets & microphones and replacing the scoreboard at Hendrickson High School
- Prop G - $76,000,000 to design and construct a districtwide CTE Center to house expanded vocational learning opportunities for students
- Prop H - $43,924,000 for the purchase of land and construction of up to 100 units of teacher-only affordable housing in PfISD
If all measures are approved, the district says taxpayers will see a 12-cent decrease in their overall tax rate in this fiscal year.
As of 1:19 a.m. Nov 9, all measures except Prop F are expected to pass.
Taylor ISD - $82.47 million
Taylor ISD is requesting a $82.47 million bond package to address safety, district growth, and aging facilities. As of 1:20 a.m., the bond package is expected to pass.
The bond will be on the ballot as a single proposition which will fund:
- Safety and security updates across the district
- Career and Technical Education (CTE) addition for workforce certification
- Renovation and modernization of Main Street Intermediate School, Pasemann and TH Johnson elementary schools
- Renovation and modernization of Taylor Middle School
- Major building repairs including HVAC/roof replacement
- Land acquisition
The district says the bond will not increase the tax rate according to financial projections. Taylor ISD’s total 2022 tax rate is $1.28 per $100 of assessed valuation ($0.94 M&O + $0.34 I&S) and represents the lowest district tax rate since 2008.
Waelder ISD - $13.745 million
Waelder ISD is requesting a $13,745,000 million bond package that will lead to districtwide changes.
The bond is split into two propositions:
- Prop A - $10,300,000 for the construction, acquisition and equipment of school buildings in the district, including districtwide renovations, and the purchase of necessary sites for school buildings
- Prop B - $3,445,000 of refunding bonds for the purpose of refunding all or a portion of the principal and/or interest on certain previously issued maintenance tax obligations
As of 1:26 a.m. Nov. 9, both propositions are not expected to pass.
Leander ISD - ACE/VATRE election
Another district with propositions on the ballot is Leander ISD, which is holding an ACE and VATRE election.
- Prop A - Attendance Credit Election (ACE) which allows the district to make the mandatory recapture payments required due to the increase in its property tax wealth through the purchase of attendance credit
If Prop A fails, Leander ISD will be subject to a "Detachment of Territory," meaning the state will detach a portion of the school district’s total property value. As a result, Leander ISD says it might need to raise the I&S tax rate to pay existing debt.
- Prop B - Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) which would add 9 cents to the M&O tax rate. Due to a decrease in the district’s I&S tax rate, Prop B would still result in a reduction of 6.24 cents in the overall tax rate.
Leander ISD says that if Prop B passes, the district will raise revenue needed to reduce future deficits and fund the compensation plan enacted earlier this year, which provided raises of 5% for teachers and 4% for all other employees.
If Prop B fails, the district says it will face a budget shortfall of nearly $35 million that could cause reductions in our workforce and academic programs and impact future compensation increases.
As of 1:21 a.m., both propositions are expected to pass.