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One of the most complicated subjects we deal with is school finance. Without getting into golden and copper pennies, allotments, Tier I and Tier II funding, WADA, and other in-depth details of school finance, here is what we can easily say about the proposed bond package.

Birdville ISD’s tax rate will not change because of the 2022 bond election.

Did you know … ?

Since 2019, BISD’s overall tax rate has decreased 17.4 cents. This has positioned the District to have additional capacity to sell bonds to address facility improvements now and in the future. Also, since 2014, the Board has approved prepayments of $29 million of bond principal saving taxpayers more than $20.2 million in future interest payments.

About Public School Tax Rates

Though we only see the overall tax rate on the tax statement each year, that rate represents a portion for operations and a portion for voter-approved bond debt. We will illustrate this with the buckets above.

The first bucket is the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) budget, which funds daily costs and recurring expenditures such as teacher and staff salaries, supplies, insurance, and utilities.

The second bucket is the Interest & Sinking (I&S) budget, also known as Debt Service, which is used to repay debt for capital improvements approved by voters through bond elections. Proceeds from a bond can be used for the construction and renovation of facilities, the acquisition of land, and the purchase of capital items such as equipment, technology, and transportation. By law, I&S funds cannot be used to pay M&O expenses which means that I&S funds cannot be used to pay teacher salaries or pay for rising costs for utilities and services.

The efficient management of BISD’s existing bond debt over the last ten years has allowed the District to refinance more than $142.2 million of its outstanding bonds at a lower interest rate, saving taxpayers $18.4 million in future interest costs. The District has also prepaid approximately $29 million of its bonds prior to scheduled maturity, saving an additional $20.2 million in future interest payments for taxpayers. BISD will continue to carefully monitor its bond debt and related interest rates to save taxpayers additional dollars in the future.

The District repays its bonds based upon the useful life of the assets for which the District is financing. As an example, BISD repays bonds issued for new school buildings over a 25-year period, but repays bonds issued for technology in five years or less.

If voters approve all three propositions on Nov. 8, Birdville ISD will have the ability to sell additional voter-approved bonds with NO school tax rate increase due to bond prepayments and the refinancing of current bonds at lower interest rates.

Next week, we will look at the ballot language.

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The final piece of “Birdville’s Proposition Bundle” is Proposition C.  Proposition C would construct an Indoor Multipurpose Activity Center at Birdville, Haltom and Richland high schools. These facilities will be designed for use by both the fine arts and athletics programs. Features will include: 

• A full football field, including end zones. This will allow the marching bands an indoor location to practice. 
• Large fans and garage doors to help control heat during the summer months and heaters to help during the winter. 
• Retractable netting from the roof to divide the space for multiple activities at the same time. 
• Opportunities for band, drill teams, color guard, football, baseball, softball, soccer, and other non-fine arts/athletics uses. 

Proposition C 

Indoor Multipurpose Activity Centers at all three high schools 

Total: $59,000,000 

Once again, BISD is using the term “Birdville’s Proposition Bundle.” When discussing the three propositions, it is important to remind voters that they are being asked to consider the proposal as a bundle, even though they are listed as three separate items. 

Next week, we will look at School Finance and the Bond. 

Learn more at BISDBond22.net 

On Aug. 18, Birdville ISD’s Board of Trustees unanimously called for a bond election to be held as part of the general election on Nov. 8. BISD voters are being asked to consider three propositions totaling $359.8 million bond package that was developed with extensive community input by a diverse group of citizens from all parts of the District. The package approved by the Board addresses: safety and security upgrades at every campus; replacing three campuses with two (Mullendore Elementary and David E. Smith Elementary/W.T. Francisco Elementary [Partner School]); expansion of the Haltom High School cafeteria; critical repair/renovation needs requiring action in the next three years; indoor multipurpose activity centers at the three high schools; and technology upgrades Districtwide. This plan impacts every student, staff member, facility and community served by BISD. 

The proposed bond package: 

• Provides additional safety and security measures throughout the District; 

• Eliminates more than 26 portable classrooms across the District; 
• Maintains replacement cycles for current 1:1 student-to-technology ratio and teacher/staff technology; 
• Addresses priority repair/renovation needs (requiring action in the next one to three years), roofs, HVAC and plumbing; 
• Replaces three existing facilities that are more than 60 years old with two new facilities that require less money to operate and maintain.  
• Will be monitored by a Board-appointed citizen’s bond oversight committee to monitor the scope, timeline and expenditure of bond funds. 

If BISD voters approve this bond package, school property tax rates will not increase as a result of this bond proposal. 

Early voting is Oct. 24 – Nov. 4, and Election Day is Nov. 8. 

For more details on the proposal, visit BISDBond22.net.