Education
BY MICHAEL CROUCHLEY
RISD’s $1.4B bond passes
What you need to know
• Tennis court lighting, locker room refurbishment and additional athletic program improvements • Instructional materials and fine arts instruments and uniforms Proposition B would allocate $54 million to replace tablets for teachers and students. Proposition C would provide $7.4 million replace the turf and add Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant stadium seating to the football stadiums at Lake Highlands and Richardson High Schools.
Proposition A makes up the majority of the ref- erendum and asks voters for $1.338 billion to cover the construction of a new Career and Technical Education Center along with several other projects, including: • Renovations or new building construction to transition the six remaining junior high cam- puses to the middle school model • Renovations at the Environmental Studies Center • Infrastructure and safety upgrades across the district
Voters have approved Richardson’s $1.4 billion bond package, according to unofficial election results. Proposition A passed with 20,730 “For” votes and 11,721 “Against” votes. Proposition B passed with 20,973 votes in favor of passing, or 64.68%. Proposition C was supported by 52.83% of voters, receiving 17,120 “For” votes and 15,288 “Against” votes. “The overwhelming approval of all three bond propositions is a profound statement of support for our students, our staff, and the future of public education in RISD,” Superintendent Tabitha Branum said. “This historic $1.4 billion investment will allow us to immediately move forward with critical projects.”
Richardson ISD middle school transformations
Completed renovations 7 Forest Meadow Middle School 8 Lake Highlands Middle School Upcoming renovations 1 Apollo Junior High School 2 Liberty Junior High School 3 Richardson North Junior High School 4 Parkhill Junior High School 5 Richardson West Junior High SchooI 6 Westwood Jr High School
BRENTFIELD RD.
PGBT TOLL
75
W. CAMPBELL RD.
3
MIMOSA DR.
4
N. FLOYD RD.
A R A P A H O R D.
SHADYBANK DR.
6
APOLLO RD.
RISD bond election
5
1
HOLLY DR.
Against
For
B U CK IN G H A M R D .
36.12%
35.32%
LAWLER RD.
635
63.88%
64.68%
W. WALNUT ST.
2
Proposition A
Proposition B
FOREST LN.
7
47.17%
WHITEHURST DR.
52.83%
SOURCE: DALLAS COUNTY/ COMMUNITY IMPACT ALL RESULTS ARE UNOFFICIAL UNTIL CANVASSED.
75
8
Proposition C
SOURCE: RICHARDSON ISD/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
WALNUT HILL LN.
N
Estimated tax increases
Looking ahead
$300
According to the 2025 certified value summaries released by Dallas County Appraisal District, the average taxable value for a home in the Richardson’s portion of RISD is $281,267, which would be an increase of about $52 a year, or about $4.33 per month. Individuals 65 and older will not be affected by the increase.
The bond comes with a $0.04 increase that would be applied to the debt services portion of the property tax rate beginning in fiscal year 2026-27, assistant superintendent David Pate said. “No one took a potential increase for tax lightly,” Branum said. “We know right now with the state of where the economy is, every dollar matters.”
$200
$100
$0
Home value without tax exemptions
SOURCE: RICHARDSON ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
9
RICHARDSON EDITION
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