Election
BY BROOKE SJOBERG
In November, Round Rock ISD will ask voters to approve a $998 million bond package. Unlike past bond proposals, the district does not want to build new schools. Instead, these funds will be used to address the major and minor needs of schools across the district, per a recent report on district facilities. The last bond, passed in 2018, totaled $508.4 million and went to alleviating elementary school crowding, improving high schools, building a natatorium and other investments. With the 2024 proposal, the district aims to address needs of aging facilities and access to career and technical education, as well as replace aging technology. A new athletic facility is also proposed for RRISD’s east side. RRISD proposes $1B in bonds
What they’re saying
The context
What’s next?
Proposition A: $798.3 million • HVAC, roofing, electrical and plumbing replacements alongside restoring parts of aging facilities • New career and technical education facility plus new school buses Proposition B: $125.3 million • Instructional technology and technology infrastructure replacements • Improvements to internet speed, connectivity and security of district network
Budget comparison FY 2014-2015 • Enrollment: 46,840 • Total: $361.3M
RRISD was one of few in Central Texas to pass a balanced budget this year, but doing so required cutting $30 million in operating expenses. “Having served on this board … this is the first time that we’ve had a balanced budget in a while,” RRISD Board President Amber Landrum said. RRISD Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez said the district was able to make budget cuts without having to lay off employees, although some were reassigned to other positions. RRISD estimates that the state will provide about half the funding the district received a decade before, despite having similar enrollment. The district is also expecting to pay an estimated $19.9 million back to the state due to recapture, a process also known as Robin Hood that takes excess tax dollars from property-rich districts and redistributes them to poorer districts. With a lack of an increase of state funding and rising operations costs, Azaiez said school districts are put into difficult positions when it comes to
All four propositions will be on the Nov. 5 ballot along with three trustee positions. The district ratified its fiscal year 2024-25 tax rate of $0.8931 in September, which includes a 1.5-cent decrease to the debt service rate, as well as a decrease of just over one cent to the maintenance and operations rate. If passed, the bonds will not result in an increase or decrease in the current tax rate, district officials said. Tax impact $0.8931 FY 2024-25 tax rate per $100 home valuation $3,422 in taxes for a median home valued $383,201 0% tax rate impact for FY 2024-25 from passage or failure of bonds
As the largest bond package ever proposed by the district, the $998 million has prompted strong reactions from the RRISD community. Jill Farris, a district parent who participated on the citizens bond committee and previously ran for a board seat in 2022, said she would have preferred a bond amount closer to $600 million, but was not altogether against the proposal. District parent and substitute nurse Natalie Bogue said she is generally in support of all four propositions. As a resident of 20 years, Bogue said the timing and size of the bond feels proportional to the level of growth in Round Rock. “It’s just time for a lot of these things to be updated,” she said. Place 7 trustee Danielle Weston, however, said that families who are already struggling would be further burdened by the bonds. “I think the bond that’s being asked for here is too large, given these economic circumstances,” Weston said.
Local $259,039,642
State $99,183,565
Federal $3,100,000
Proposition C: $8.6 million • Fine arts improvements and upgrades
FY 2024-2025 • Enrollment: 46,485 • Total: $466M*
Local $410,889,499
State $52,153,000
Federal $3,006,000
Proposition D: $65.9 million • Upgrading competition fields to turf and improving locker rooms • Building a standalone multipurpose athletic facility
*THE DISTRICT WILL PAY AN ESTIMATED $19.9 MILLION BACK TO THE STATE DUE TO RECAPTURE.
A bond is a way for a school district to borrow money from investors to fund capital projects.
budgeting for positions and performing mainte- nance. Azaiez said an influx of bond dollars would allow the district to better distribute its mainte- nance and operations funds, as the majority of the money would go to replacing large-scale items, such as ventilation systems and roofs.
A
Total $998.1M
B D C
SOURCE: ROUND ROCK ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
HYMEADOW 12611 Hymeadow (512) 506-8401
NORTH 620 10601 N FM 620 (512) 506-8316
ARBORETUM 10515 North Mopac Expressway (512) 342-6893
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