Frequently Asked Questions

The law provides that a school district must hold an election and get permission from voters to sell bonds and to levy taxes to pay for them. Bonds are sold to provide funding for capital improvements that last for a number of years. Such investments are too capital intensive to be included in annual operating budgets; school districts are not allowed under state law to accumulate cash for these projects.  Just as an individual agrees to repay a new home loan, voters authorize the District to sell and repay bonds for making major capital improvements. School boards can only levy I&S taxes in the amount necessary to repay the bonds. If the amount needed to pay the bonds is less, the district taxes less.

Public schools rely on the support of local taxpayers to fund the operations and facilities of the school district.

Similar to homeowners borrowing money in the form of a mortgage, a school district borrows to finance the design, construction, expansion, and renovations of schools and facilities.

Voters must approve these funds through a bond election.

• The Board of Trustees calls for an election.
• If bonds are approved by voters, bonds are sold to investors.
• Proceeds are used for approved capital projects.
• The tax rate is set in two parts: one to cover the operating costs (payroll, supplies, equipment, insurance, utilities, etc.) and the other to pay principal & interest due on the bonds each year.

In October 2021, TISD launched Imagine 2026, a strategic planning initiative. Over 300 stakeholders contributed to the development of this new five-year strategic plan over the course of seven months. 

The Board of Trustees adopted Imagine 2026 in April 2022 and created a Long-Range Planning Committee (LRPC). The LRPC included 39 community members drawn from across the district including parents, community and business leaders, representatives from civic organizations, and elected officials. 

The primary task of the LRPC was to develop a long-term master facilities plan that included a recommendation for implementation. Their findings were presented to the TISD Board on June 29, 2022. The Board unanimously voted to call a bond election on Thursday, August 11, 2022. 

Proposition A is $130 million

Proposition B is $59 million

Total amount of Proposition A and B is $189 million

Bond money will be used for new schools and facilities, expansion and renovations of existing facilities, furniture, technology infrastructure, equipment, buses, and new school sites.

Bond money can only be used for capital improvements and related costs. Bond money may not be used for employee salaries, utilities, and other such operating expenses.

A school district’s tax rate is composed of two components or “buckets”. The first bucket is the maintenance and operations budget (M&O), which funds daily costs and recurring or consumable expenditures such as teacher and staff salaries, supplies, software and utilities. The second bucket is the interest and sinking budget (I&S), also known as Debt Service, and that is for longer-term capital improvements approved by voters through bond elections. I&S funds cannot by law be used to pay M&O expenses, which means that voter-approved bonds cannot be used to increase teacher salaries or pay rising costs for utilities and services.

Cost projections for the June 2022 Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) recommendations that were included in Proposition A totalled $128 million.  A total of $2 million in additional funding was added to the LRPC recommendations to acquire land and provide the same types of PreKindergarten learning environments for students across the district. This brought the total for Proposition A to $130 million.

Texas law does not require the general facilities measure to specify each and every project. Only six categories are required to have separate measures and corresponding ballot propositions. The term “school facilities” in Proposition A includes the school security projects.  

By law, the role for any school district during a bond election is to share factual information with the voters so the community may make an informed choice as to whether they wish to support or oppose a bond proposition. The District should also be responsive to citizens’ questions related to the bond issue and to ensure voters know when and where they have an opportunity to vote.

A group of over 350 stakeholders helped to develop Imagine 2026, a new five-year strategic plan for the district. The Board of Trustees adopted Imagine 2026 in April 2022 and created a Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) of community stakeholders. The LRPC included over 30 community members drawn from across the district including parents, community and business leaders, representatives from civic organizations, and elected officials. 

The primary task of the LRPC was to develop a long-term master facilities plan that included a recommendation for implementation. Their findings were presented to the TISD Board on June 29, 2022. The Board unanimously voted to call a bond election on Thursday, August 11, 2022.

Proposition A includes:

• District-wide safety and security upgrades  
• Prekindergarten replacement school that will keep the Paul Laurence Dunbar name
• New replacement elementary school on the district’s Pine Street site for Highland Park and Spring Lake Park students
• Additions and renovations to the Wake Village Elementary School 
• New school buses

Proposition B includes:

• New construction and renovations of existing facilities for Career and Technical Education at the Texas High School Campus

The proposal was developed by a Long Range Planning Committee of 39 community members from across the district, including parents, community and business leaders, representatives from civic organizations and elected officials. Their primary task was to develop and present to the Board of Trustees a long-term Master Facilities Plan that included a recommendation for implementation.

The bonds may be sold anywhere from 45-60 days after the bond election. Generally, once a bond issue passes, the architects begin the design work and the bid process. Construction itself will begin several months after the election.

These facilities will continue to be maintained. The district’s long-range facilities plan calls for district services such as technology, the police department, and the print shop to be moved to these facilities.

The new Paul Laurence Dunbar Early Education Center will be double the size of the current Dunbar campus to accommodate 600 three and four-year-old students. It will include classrooms sized to current TEA standards, play areas, parking, and dedicated drop-off zones for those students. A site will be selected based on these program requirements. Site selection will also require soil testing and other engineering services that are included in the bond. 

The replacement campus will include a display case in which the artifacts will be displayed.

These facilities will continue to be maintained. The district’s long-range facilities plan calls for district services such as technology, the police department, and the print shop to be moved to these facilities. 

School districts must follow competitive bidding requirements and get the best value in exchange for taxpayer dollars. The district has a long-standing history of utilizing local firms for construction and related projects. That trend has continued over the past several years. The size of the construction projects and timelines for completion are expected to align with the experience and expertise of local businesses and contribute to their competitiveness in the bidding process. 

• Each of these facilities and surrounding grounds will continue to be maintained by the district.

  The district’s long-range facilities plan calls for district services such as technology, the police department, and the print shop to be moved to them.

  Existing classrooms and offices can be used for these purposes with minimal modifications. As a result, funding for the renovation of these facilities was not recommended for the 2022 Bond Program. 

The State Property Tax Code allows for school property taxes on an individual homestead to be “frozen” at the age of 65. If you are 65 years of age or older and you have filed for the “Over 65 Homestead Exemption”, there is a ceiling on the amount of school taxes to be paid. The only exception is if improvements are made to a home. As such, a tax increase from a new bond program cannot increase the applicable tax ceiling of a taxpayer that has qualified for the “Over 65 Homestead Exemption.”  More information is available at bowieappraisal.com. 

The proposed tax rate increase is 19.88 cents per $100 of assessed value.

The average value of a home in Texarkana ISD is $119,550. The impact of Proposition A, which includes safety and security upgrades, a Prekindergarten replacement school which will keep the Paul Laurence Dunbar name, a new replacement elementary school on the district’s Pine Street site for High Park and Spring Lake Park Elementary School students, additions and renovations to Wake Village Elementary School, and new school buses, would be $9.06 per month on a home of average value. 

The impact of Proposition B, which includes new and existing facilities for Career and Technical Education at the Texas High School campus, would be $4.12 per month on a home of average value. 

The average value of a home in Texarkana ISD is $119,550. The impact of Proposition A, which includes safety and security upgrades, a Prekindergarten replacement school that will keep the Paul Laurence Dunbar name, a new replacement elementary school on the district’s Pine Street site for High Park and Spring Lake Park Elementary School students, additions and renovations to Wake Village Elementary School, and new school buses, would be $9.06 per month on a home of average value. 
The impact of Proposition B, which includes new and existing facilities for Career and Technical Education at the Texas High School campus, would be $4.12 per month on a home of average value. 

A district’s property tax rate consists of a maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate and, if applicable, an interest and sinking (I&S) tax rate. The M&O tax rate provides funds for maintenance and operations. The I&S tax rate provides funds for payments on the debt that finances a district’s facilities.

In the past, payment of bonds by TISD has been completed using the rate presented, considered, and approved by voters in corresponding bond elections. 

School districts are required to levy an I&S tax rate sufficient to make bond payments.  The model for TISD Bond 2022 has been built by the district’s financial advisers within parameters, including the timing of actual bond sales, that are consistent with the I&S tax rate that voters are being presented. 

Financial information about the district is available at this website.

The simple answer is there are no funds available for major capital improvements without selling bonds and levying a tax rate to fund the payment of principal and interest on those bonds.

Most of us must borrow money from a bank or other source when doing large projects such as building a house. We then must have funds available in our personal budget to make the mortgage payments. The same is true for a school district.

State law allows public school districts to levy property taxes in two parts:

The first part is a Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate for the purpose of daily operation of the district. The Texas Education Agency sets a Maximum Compressed Rate (MCR) each year for Tier I pennies. Texarkana ISD’s MCR for the upcoming 2022-23 year is $0.8046. This tax rate added to the Tier II pennies previously approved by voters in a Tax Ratification Election (TRE) of $0.1383 will automatically set the M&O tax rate at $1.1979 per $100 assessed value.

The second part is an Interest and Sinking (I&S) tax rate for the purpose of paying principal and interest on bonds that voters have approved for making capital improvements. Existing law requires that the District demonstrate, at the time bonds are issued, that it can pay all of its tax supported debt at a rate not to exceed 50 cents based on the current valuation of the tax base. All debt paid with funds generated by the I&S tax rate requires voter approval. TISD is currently at $0.2550 cents per $100 assessed value.

$31,990,000 – Outstanding Voted Bond (I&S) Principal Balance.  TISD has refunded and redeemed bonds over the past 12 years, resulting in total interest cost savings of $6,476,486.

TISD has invested $7 million of COVID relief funds in replacing aging HVAC systems at its campuses. This project is improving reliability, improving efficiency, and decreasing operating costs.

Election Day is November 8, 2022.

Election Day polling locations are listed below. Note that on election day, qualified voters may vote at any location regardless of their residence address.

Early voting begins October 24 and ends November 4, 2022.

Last Day to Register to Vote is October 11, 2022

You can check your registration status and complete a voter registration application using this link. 

Please email [email protected].