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Proposition BREAKDOWN The 86th Texas Legislature in 2019 altered the Texas Education Code, so school districts are now required to separate bond proposals into general-purpose and special-purpose propositions. Spring ISD’s 2022 bond will appear on November ballots in three parts.
leaders, parents and students met six times over the summer to identify speci c projects and create the bond proposal. SISD trustees called the bond election in a unanimous vote during their Aug. 9 meeting. The last time SISD held a bond elec- tion in 2016, the $330 million propo- sition was approved by 72% of voters and funded the $38.9 million Planet Ford Stadium as well as technology and safety upgrades. Spring resident Amelia Cerecedes, who has two children in SISD, said while she voted in favor of SISD’s bond in 2016, she does not fully sup- port the 2022 bond. “They wasted $38.9 million on the stadium, which I was not aware of when I voted for it at the time,” Cere- cedes said via email. “They should have renovated the schools instead.” While some SISD voters such as Cerecedes fear a bond would increase their property taxes, SISD Chief Financial Ocer Ann Westbrooks said taxpayers would not see a tax rate increase due to the bond. If all three propositions are approved by voters in November, Westbrooks said the bond would raise the district’s $0.40 per $100 valuation interest and sinking tax rate—which pays for voter-approved bonded indebtedness—by $0.05. As a result, the district’s total tax rate for scal year 2022-23, which trustees set at $1.2546 per $100 valuation on Sept. 13, would increase to about $1.30—$0.0128 less than the FY 2021-22 tax rate. According to district ocials, the average home value within SISD’s boundaries was $178,682 in 2022. Based on this gure, the average SISD homeowner would pay about $89.40 more in annual property taxes if the bond package is passed. “You always want to take care of your homeowners of your commu- nity,” Hinojosa said. “You don’t want to create a burden for them, and so ... we are really projecting an oset in our tax rate.” Renovating campuses SISD’s $850 million bond proposal is divided into three propositions due to changes made to the Texas Education Code after the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019. Districts are now required to separate projects into general-purpose and special-purpose propositions as well as include ballot
language notifying voters if property taxes will increase. The largest proposition of the three, Proposition A accounts for about 80.1% of the total bond funds requested and would allocate funds to rebuild Spring High School—the district’s oldest school—as well as renovate West eld High School and Reynolds and Jenkins elementary schools. Before it was determined which school renovations would be priori- tized under the 2022 bond, the bond steering committee and an indepen- dent rm assessed the campuses that were not able to be renovated with 2016 bond funds, Hinojosa said. “For Spring High School, there were great needs,” Hinojosa said. “So they did a complete assessment, and imme- diately, it rose to the top.” According to Mark Miranda, exec- utive chief of district operations for SISD, district leaders will collect par- ent and student input before planning the renovations for the West eld, Reynolds and Jenkins campuses. “We’re going to work with ... those three campuses to determine their highest priority needs,” Miranda said. “The bond steering committee really felt like it was important for us to connect with those three campuses and really kind of do something that’s unique to them.” Facility maintenance at various schools would also be addressed through this proposition, such as roof- ing and £ooring replacements; heating, ventilation and air conditioning repairs and replacements; campus repainting; and marquee replacements. Proposition A would also fund the purchase of 25 new school buses, 35 special education school buses, 19 district police vehicles and 16 main- tenance vehicles. Cerecedes said she worries about the impact Proposition A would have on property taxes. “I do want to see the upgrades done for Spring High School, but I can’t aord to pay more in property taxes,” Cerecedes said. “The value of every- one’s home went up so much.” Of Harris County’s 1.8 million par- cels, more than 97% of residential properties and more than 95% of commercial properties saw value increases year over year in 2022, according to Harris County Appraisal District data. This is the highest per- centage of increasing property values since at least 2011 with Harris County
$850M TOTAL:
A
B
C
PROPOSITION A: $681M
• Added security features such as shooter detection systems, security vestibules, enhanced metal detectors and upgraded security cameras • Heating, ventilation and air conditioning replacements • Flooring and roong replacements PROPOSITION C: $28M Technology upgrades districtwide, including: • new teacher laptops, laptop charging stations for classrooms, upgraded computer labs, added protection for cybersecurity and an expanded telephone system
• Spring High School rebuild • Renovations for Westeld High School and Jenkins and Reynolds elementary schools • Purchase of 60 school buses,
19 district police cars and 16 maintenance vehicles
PROPOSITION B: $141M New education and performing arts center, which could be used as an indoor space for: • academic, arts and athletic events; convocation and graduation; and as an emergency reunication site
Tracking TAXES
Spring ISD’s tax rate has decreased every year since the 2018-19 school year, and if voters approve all three propositions on the district’s bond proposal in November, district leaders estimate the new tax rate could be $1.30 per $100 valuation—a $0.0128 decrease from the 2021-22 rate.
Maintenance and operations tax rate
Interest and sinking tax rate
The part of the tax rate used to pay for voter-approved bonded indebtedness, usually for construction of facilities
A portion of a school district’s tax rate that raises revenue to operate and maintain the district’s schools
SPRING ISD HISTORICAL TAX RATES PER $100 VALUATION
$0
$0.25
$0.50
$0.75
$1
$1.25
$1.50
$0.47 $0.42996 $0.42996 $0.47 $0.47
$1.04 $1.04 $1.04 $1.04 $1.04 $0.97
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
$0.46
$0.45
$0.9343 $0.9028 $0.8546
2020-21
$0.41
2021-22
$0.40
2022-23 2022-23*
$1.30*
*ESTIMATED TAX RATE IF ALL THREE PROPOSITIONS PASS
The average home value in Spring ISD’s boundaries is $178,682 for 2022.
The average homeowner would pay $89.40 more in taxes annually should voters approve the 2022 bond.
SOURCE: SPRING ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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