2023 LOCAL VOTER GUIDE
State law requires all school bond referendum ballots to be printed with, “This is a property tax increase.” According to the district: IMPACT ON TAX RATES The Leander ISD tax rate will not change as a result of whether voters approve or reject the bond propositions. • The bond package in May will not raise tax rates for LISD residents. • Continued growth of the tax base will allow the existing debt service tax rate of $0.33 per $100 property valuation to pay for the proposed projects. • Rising property values could result in higher tax bills for residents.
BOND HISTORY
Proposition C would renovate the Don Tew and South performing arts centers. According to district admin- istration, upgrades to the facilities’ heating and air conditioning systems as well as other remodeling projects are more than 20 years due. Bonds allow school districts to borrow money to be used to construct new buildings, acquire land, invest in technology, buy vehicles and make other large purchases. If approved, school districts then sell bonds to investors, who are later repaid the initial cost plus interest. According to LISD ocials, the tax rate will not increase based on elec- tion results as the value of taxable properties within the district contin- ues to increase, allowing LISD to fund projects with the existing debt service tax rate of $0.33 per $100 property valuation. However, rising property values could result in higher tax bills. “That tax rate is adequate to pay our current debt payments, to continue to defease debt, to pay o¢ debt early whenever we can,” Gearing said. “And also it has enough capacity in those $0.33 to accommodate certainly this bond that’s on the ballot for this May.” Community concerns After several Steiner Ranch parents spoke at a special-called board meet- ing April 4 against the district’s plan to repurpose schools as part of Prop- osition A, LISD trustees and adminis- tration shifted the direction of what repurposing campuses would look like. Steiner Ranch parent Dean Rheaume said long-range enrollment forecast- ing, which informed the district’s plans for repurposing campuses, is dicult when it comes to elementary schools. “They’re dicult because kinder- garteners 10 years from now simply
This is the second bond election Leander ISD has called in less than two years as the district— considered a fast-growth district— attempts to prepare for the increased growth in its student population in the coming years.
2021 BOND PACKAGE
Proposition A $727 million Carried into the 2023 bond: Failed • Construction of elementary schools No. 31 and No. 32 • Second broadband network node • Storage and server replacement • New science material center
SOURCE: LEANDER ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
entire facility,” Gearing said. Developing a plan
aren’t humans today,” he said. A parent-led group called Save Our Four Points Schools spoke at several recent board meetings in an e¢ort to keep three schools—that were initially slated to be repurposed as part of Prop- osition A—open. The district has since hosted two forums to get community feedback, LISD Chief of Communications Cres- tina Hardie said. Gearing led a presentation at the April 4 meeting, explaining how the district plans to repurpose campuses with community input at the forefront. “We have listened to the commu- nity, and we understand that there is a strong desire to keep neighbor- hood schools open,” Gearing said. “We believe that there are ways to repurpose campuses that keep schools open while addressing dis- trict needs and also bringing some exciting, engaging new opportunities to neighborhood schools.” Gearing said instead of closing and repurposing the underutilized schools, the district could achieve the same goal of maximizing facilities by repur- posing portions of those schools. “If, however, a particular school’s community decides that it no longer makes sense for us to keep the school open, there is still the possibility of closing a school and repurposing the
Prior to calling an election, LISD’s Citizens Facility Advisory Committee— made up of six subcommittees and a steering committee of local residents— formed to create a bond package. Each subcommittee brought recommenda- tions to the steering committee, which delivered proposals to the board. In January, the steering committee recommended the board call a bond package ranging from $563 million-$601 million. The admin- istration then brought additional pro- posals aligned with LISD’s long-range plan—an evolving 10-year itinerary to ensure facilities accommodate changes to the district’s population. “I know some people have said the process was rushed,” Celeste Fahnert, who served on the bond steering com- mittee, said. “While it may feel like it was from the outside, we spent a lot of time and thought, even outside of our meetings, processing that infor- mation alone.” Mike Herrera, a steering committee member, said the group was able to meet with the district’s chief nancial ocer and ask LISD sta¢ questions. However, not all of the steering committee members understood “how much steering we could do” regarding
Proposition B $33 million
Passed
SOURCE: LEANDER ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT • Renovating/modernizing Don Tew Performing Arts Center and South Performing Arts Center Proposition C $11.6 million Carried into the 2023 bond: Failed • Technology equipment and infrastructure
the cost of certain projects. Gearing said if the bond fails, the district would likely have to look at changing attendance zones, mak- ing it “dicult to maintain the neighborhood school concepts.” Furthermore, he said LISD would have to put o¢ renovations to 30-year-old facilities, install porta- ble buildings and pay for potential repairs out of the general fund in addition to bringing another bond proposal to voters in November.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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LAKE TRAVIS WESTLAKE EDITION • APRIL 2023
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