2023 EDUCATION EDITION
will be voting against the bond this November. “I ask [the board] to consider the entirety of the bond package is not what the citizens of the district are needing or asking for,” she said. “Yes, there are more people moving into the county. Yes, there are updates that are needed at some of our larger schools, and a few schools are need- ing to be built, but given the commit- tee’s skewed makeup, … I believe it should be voted down.” Cox said she believes the commit- tee was made entirely of educators and constituents from CISD, swaying the vote in favor of the district. According to previous Community Impact coverage, 56.04% of voters in 2019 approved Proposition A as part of the last bond package. Proposition A included starting Phase 2 of Conroe High School, building four new ele- mentary schools and one junior high. Proposition B, which included arti - cial turf as the only other item, failed by over 5,000 votes. Financial impact CISD’s bond is larger than bond packages proposed by other area dis- tricts in 2022 and 2023, according to CISD. Compared to districts with sim- ilar enrollment numbers, only Klein ISD’s 2022 bond came close. With an enrollment of 53,294, KISD passed a $1.1 billion bond in May 2022. However, Null said the district is anticipating lowering the tax rate this year even with the bond. The district anticipates a $0.1525 decrease for the 2023-24 tax year to bring the rate to $0.9621, according to a budget pre- sentation Aug. 1. According to the CISD website, the approved $653.5 million bond pack- age in 2019 did not result in a tax rate
FINDING RELIEF The 2023 bond package is expected to help alleviate the major overcrowding issues Conroe ISD is currently facing. 67 SCHOOLS in the district were operating at an average capacity of 102% in 2022-23. 70 FINDING RELIEF
HISTORIC TAX RATES According to Conroe ISD, since 2018-19, the tax rate has decreased by $0.1654 per $100 valuation, and the district is anticipating a further decrease for scal year 2023-24.
$1.23
1.50
$1.176
Anticipated $0.9621
1.20
$1.28
$1.2125
0.90
$1.1146
0.60
73,000 + ENROLLMENT is expected in 2023-24.
If the 2023 bond package is approved, the estimated tax rate impact is $0.02 per $100 valuation.
0.30
PORTABLE BUILDINGS were approved for the 2023- 24 school year.
0
2018- 2019
2019- 2020
2020- 2021
2021- 2022
2022- 2023
2023- 2024
Academic year
4 CAMPUSES will each see more than 10 portable classrooms this year.
SOURCE: CONROE ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
100K + STUDENTS are expected by 2033.
capacity the priority. In 2023, the district opened three schools built with funds from the $653.5 million bond package approved in 2019, including the new Moorhead Junior High and Veterans Intermedi- ate in Conroe. Vein said the district has gone from growing steadily by 1,500 students a year to 3,000-4,000 students a year. “If you’re in the driver’s seat and you’re moving forward, look at those new numbers,” he said. “That’s going to be more of what we are looking at over and over again.” According to a presentation in April by CISD Superintendent of Operations Chris McCord, 67 of 73 CISD campuses were operating at an average capacity of 102% in the 2022-23 school year with enrollment projected to increase to at least 100,000 students by 2033. “In 2027, we are going to have 84,000-90,000 students here in Conroe ISD,” Reagan said. “We are nowhere near being able to handle that capacity.” Stacey Chase, a member of the
board of trustees, said she believes the safety of students and sta is being compromised due to schools being over capacity. “The three main things that this school is responsible for using tax dol- lars on is the safety of our students and sta and improving student outcomes,” she said. “Being over capacity has neg- atively impacted all of those things.” Community response At an Aug. 1 meeting, several people expressed opinions for and against the 2023 bond. Holly Moore, who didn’t identify whether she is a parent in the district, said she is in favor of the bond package. “This bond is absolutely crucial for helping with overcrowding,” she said. “I think it’s important to remem- ber that maybe it’s not our personal house, our feeder zone or ZIP code that’s a ected, but all of our kids deserve the best.” However, Stephanie Cox, a mother of a CISD graduate and a member of the bond committee, said she
$4.17 MONTHLY, or $50 annually , is the estimated increase in property tax on average.
SOURCE: CONROE ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
increase to district residents. “It’s important for people to know that we aren’t going to raise their taxes by 2 cents, because we’re not,” Null said. “We’re going to lower their tax rate no matter what. It’s just a matter of whether we are going to lower it by 13 cents instead of 15 or 10 instead of 12.” To learn more about the bond package, visit www.conreoisd.net/ bond-planning-committee.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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CONROE MONTGOMERY EDITION • AUGUST 2023
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