CONTINUED FROM 21
C
Interest and sinking tax rate: Make debt payments on bonds issued to pay for capital projects such as new buildings, school renovations, buses, laptops and more. This tax money is not subject to the state's recapture formula.
6
Mobile devices for students, classroom multimedia audio-visual equipment, copy machine replacements and data center upgrades
PROPOSITION B, C, D, E
CAMPUSES GETTING MAJOR RENOVATIONS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Plano Senior High School Plano East Senior High School Plano West Senior High School Williams High School Clark High School
B
Haggard Middle School Transportation Services
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS: • Safety and security upgrades throughout district • A new career and technical education center • Technology upgrades, including network infrastructure equipment, wireless network systems • Two new accessible playgrounds at nearly every elementary school • Elementary school kitchen renovations at nine campuses • New buses and bus enhancements • Outdoor tracks at 13 middle schools • Band trailers for senior high schools • Kitchen and dining additions at Frankford and Murphy middle schools
SRT TOLL
MCDERMOTT RD.
VALERIE WIGGLESWORTH COMMUNITY IMPACT
HEDGCOXE RD.
VALERIE WIGGLESWORTH COMMUNITY IMPACT
LEGACY DR.
SOURCE: PLANO ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
tax rate by about 3 cents and still have the capacity to nance the proposed projects on the ballot. “Plano ISD has a history of paying down debt early, and the increased TAVs —or taxable assessed values—have put us in a position to present these bonds without raising the adopted I&S [or debt portion] of our tax rate,” Williams said. As for funding school operations, state law caps how much a district can collect through its M&O rate. This year’s cap requires the district to lower its M&O rate by about 6 cents. Through Proposition A on the bal- lot, the district wants to use some of what it had been collecting from the I&S tax rate and assign it to the M&O side. The board of trustees has already approved the lowered tax rate for I&S. But because the district’s M&O rate is higher than what state law allows, the district needs permission from voters. “We want to get the biggest bang for our buck and have the least amount of impact on taxpayers,” Hill said.
7
5
SPRING CREEK PKWY.
2
3
75
PARKER RD.
6
DNT TOLL
1
4
PARK BLVD.
PLANO PKWY.
Visit www.pisd.edu/Page/28778 to look up what is being proposed at each individual campus and look up scores that assess each facility based on the need for replacement or renovation.
PGBT TOLL
MAP NOT TO SCALE N
Tax rate changes PISD has tapped into federal funds tied to the pandemic to cover some costs. And it has dipped into its fund balance in recent years to square expenses with available revenue. But those measures are temporary. “We currently have a $40 million de cit,” Stolle said, adding that without the tax rate election, “Our only way to reduce our cost is to reduce people, and that means shutting down what we can currently o er.” The increase in property values this year allowed the district to lower its I&S
or M&O, and interest and sinking, or I&S, also called debt service. Because PISD is considered a proper- ty-wealthy district, a portion of the tax dollars collected for maintenance and operations are recaptured by the state and used elsewhere. In the 2017-18 school year, PISD paid more than $157.11 million in recapture. This year, the district is projected to pay more than $247.89 million. “Recapture is becoming everybody’s problem now,” PISD Board Vice Presi- dent Nancy Humphrey said. She and others in PISD are already
advocating for change with state law- makers. But any changes that come from the Texas legislative session that begins in January will not help with this year’s budget. Humphrey said part of the problem with the state’s school nance formula is that it does not allow for in ation. The funding formula also does not account for sta raises, which district o cials say are needed because of the competitive job market. Hill said education is a labor-inten- sive business with about 86% of its operating budget tied to payroll.
Public education is always on the ballot. And the countdown to the legislative session is on.
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