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Austin, TX, 39 minutes ago – Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) has suggested a nearly $ 1.5 billion bond package for approval at the November 2nd vote. It is the largest package in the district’s history, with over 76,000 enrollments for students. The preliminary vote is currently in progress.
The package consists of four proposals that will be voted on individually.
Proposition A is the largest in the district with $ 1.2 billion to build, renovate and equip school buildings. This also includes the construction of a new elementary school.
Proposal B aims to improve visual arts facilities at a cost of over $ 98 million.
Proposition C, at a cost of nearly $ 105 million, is focused on acquiring, building and equipping stadiums.
Proposition D has recreational facilities as its primary purpose, including replacing turf in existing stadiums. Its total is about $ 76 million.
FWISD claims that the bond package will “not increase your property tax rate,” but the ballot will contain the language required by state law that “this is a property tax increase.”
In 2019, Texas legislature passed House Bill 3, which requires bond elections to use the language of “tax hike”. While it may not be an immediate increase in the tax rate, the language of the bond ballot authorizes the school district to levy taxes “sufficient to pay the principal and interest on the bonds.”
One of the concerns among many for Joe Palmer, a resident and opponent of the bond package, is that he believes the district has made “word forge” about the tax rate, which does not go up immediately and is misleading the public. Palmer pointed out that an increase in debt means an increase in the district’s overall tax burden, and the bond package empowers the district to levy taxes to pay the bonds if necessary.
Palmer also rejects the package because of the timing and scope of the proposal.
“At $ 1.49 billion plus interest, it will approach $ 2 billion. With inflation and economic uncertainty, now is not the time, ”said Palmer The Texan.
According to the district budget, debt servicing per student in the district is currently $ 1,378.
Palmer is also against the proposed use of the bonds, believing that three additional stages are currently unnecessary given the Texas Education Agency’s current FWISD rating of “C”. The 2021 STAAR test reports showed that of the Third grader of the circle, only 53 percent came close to expectations for reading and only 42 percent for math.
“The core function of FWISD is education. Sport is secondary. If students can’t read and write before graduation, why are we building stadiums? ”Palmer suggested.
Another area of concern for some citizens, like Chris Benton, is large contributions from construction and architecture firms to a special Political Action Committee (SPAC) called Our Kids Our Future, which is helping to pass the bond package.
Necessary SPAC filings showing a contribution of $ 15,000 from Huckabee and coworkers, a Fort Worth architectural firm. Hellas Construction in Austin gave $ 20,000. The bond package even attracted a $ 10,000 contribution from LPA Inc., a construction design company in Irvine, California.
In 2017, voters approved a $ 750 million bond package, and the improvements included in that package are almost complete, according to the district Annual report.
Hahnfeld Hoffer Stanfield’s architects and planners, hired on some of the 2017 bond package projects, donated $ 7,500 to Our Kids Our Future SPAC in support of the latest $ 1.5 billion bonds.
Besides, both I continue, the company selected to manage the 2017 bond projects, and its sister company CORE Construction have collectively contributed $ 8,000 to Our Kids Our Future. From January to September this year is FWISD paid Procedeo received over $ 5.8 million for its management responsibilities.
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