Bond 2024 FAQ

Election Day for Calallen ISD’s bond proposal is Saturday, May 4, 2023. Early voting is from April 22 to April 30, 2024.

The early voting and election day polling place information is coming soon.

Visit here for more election information.

All registered voters within the boundaries of Calallen ISD are qualified to vote. Register to vote by April 4, 2024.

• Click here to register to vote
• Click here for voting by mail information
• Click here for services available to voters with disabilities in Texas

Generally, a bond is an agreement to repay borrowed money with interest over time, similar to a mortgage on a home. Bonds are issued by school districts to investors to raise funds to pay for the costs of construction of new facilities, capital renovations and equipment. Bonds are repaid over a period of time not to exceed 40 years by law.

School districts finance the cost of constructing, renovating and equipping facilities by issuing bonds. School districts are required by law to ask voters for permission to issue bonds to investors. Districts borrow funds through the issuance of bonds and then pay the bonds back over an extended period of time, much like a family takes out a mortgage loan for their house.

Bond funds can be used to pay for new buildings, additions and renovations to existing buildings, land acquisition, technology, buses, and equipment, among other items. By law, bond funds may not be used to fund daily operating expenses, such as salaries or utilities, which are paid for out of the district’s Maintenance & Operation (M&O) budget.

Texas school districts, like Calallen ISD, are funded by three primary revenue sources — local revenue, state revenue and federal revenue.

Local revenue comes from property taxes paid by residential and commercial taxpayers within the boundaries of a school district. There are two tax rates included in a property owner’s property tax bill that make up a total rate. In Texas, these two rates fund two different portions of a school district's budget. These rates are the Maintenance and Operation or M&O Tax Rate, and the Interest and Sinking, or I&S Tax Rate. 

The M&O Tax Rate funds the day-to-day maintenance and operations of the school district like teacher salaries, utilities, and classroom supplies. This is also known as a school district's General Operating Fund. The General Operating Fund is the larger of the two tax rates. 

The Interest and Sinking Tax Rate can only be used to pay off debt incurred by issuing voter-approved bonds. School districts are required to set the I&S tax rate at the level necessary to make the annual debt payments on all outstanding voter-approved bonds.

The Interest and Sinking Tax Rate, is the revenue source that the district uses to pay off debt. The taxes collected by the Interest and Sinking Tax Rate is collected and set aside in its own account and used to pay back bonds.

School districts in Texas are allocated funds based on the number of students they serve. The basic allotment of $6,160 per student.  This allotment  is funded by local property taxes, sometimes known as the district's local share, plus state provided revenue, sometimes referred to as the state's share. With a larger number of students comes increased expenditures for additional teachers and related staff to serve those students. 

As a  school district is able to fund more of the calculated basic allotment through it's property tax base, the less state funds the school district receives.  Conversely, if a community raises less money locally through taxes, the district receives more state funds. 

In the state of Texas, the sale of bonds is the funding mechanism for school districts to raise funds for capital projects. When a district determines that it has needs beyond the capacity of the maintenance and operations budget, the Board of Trustees may issue a bond. CISD does not receive assistance from the State of Texas to repay debt or build facilities.

Voters should know that a new state law requires that the statement “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE” must appear as part of every Texas school district bond proposition ballot regardless of whether passage of the proposition would result in a tax rate increase, a tax rate decrease, or not impact the tax rate at all.

The 2024 Bond will ask voters to consider:

Proposition A includes stadium improvements at Phil Danaher Stadium, Steve Chapman Stadium, and Ladycat Softball Stadium. The total for Proposition A is $12,573,000.

• No tax impact for aged 65+
• No tax impact for 100% disabled veterans.
• The bond will cost $0.0204 per $100,000 of property value 

Total Tax Impact If the Bond 2024 proposition is approved in May, the estimated tax impact would be a $2.39 per month increase, or $28.66 per year increase, for the average home valued at $140,489.

Visit here for more finance and tax information.

There is no tax impact for homeowners over the age of 65 who have a general homestead exemption and whose taxes are frozen. The tax ceiling applies to school taxes only. 

School district taxes on resident homesteads may be frozen in the year the taxpayer turns 65 years of age and will not increase because of a school district bond election, unless improvements have been made to the property. The tax amount is frozen, not the rate, so regardless of property valuations, school taxes will remain the same. 

In order to qualify for this exemption, you must meet the same qualifications as the general homestead exemption along with proof that you are 65 years old or older. You may apply for this exemption with Nueces County Appraisal District http://www.nuecescad.net/.

In 2019, Texas Legislators passed a new law as part of HB 3 that requires all bond propositions for any school district to have the phrase ‘THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE’’ on all ballot language for bond propositions. Due to this requirement, all voters will see this statement on the official ballot language, even when there is no tax rate increase as a result of the bond becuase of your over-65 homestead exemption.

The Nueces County Appraisal District is the only entity that determines the market value of homes in Calallen ISD for taxing purposes. In 2023, the average market value of residential homes across the district's boundaries per NCAD is $140,489.

Under state law, the Texas school finance system is set up to provide operating funds each year based on the number of students enrolled. Operating funds primarily pay for teacher and employee salaries (which comprise 85% of CISD’s operating budget), property/casualty insurance, utility costs, paper/school supplies, and other materials used as the district operates.

The Texas school finance system, under which the state sets the operating portion of CISD’s property tax rate, does not allocate additional operating funds to school districts with the expectation or intention that districts be able to regularly use funds for capital items like construction. Some school districts are able to periodically use one time surplus operating funds to pay for one time capital expenses. This can happen when an urgent capital need arises that was not foreseen during bond planning (for example HVAC equipment for a school if the current aging equipment stops working and cannot be repaired). While individual projects or purchases may be funded in times of need, the Texas school finance system is not set up or intended for operating funds to pay for all capital needs.

Instead, Texas law provides the bond issuance mechanism for school districts to address ongoing capital needs, if approved by voters in the community. Under state law, the funds generated from the debt service portion of a school district’s tax rate may only be used to repay (or service) bonds that have been approved and issued. 

The Board of Trustees has the authority to decide how any unspent funds are used. 

During Bond 2023 planning fourty-seven (47) stakeholders who represented diverse backgrounds and expertise, including but not limited to, parents of CISD students of all ages, long-time and newer residents, staff members, and business owners together made up the Bond 2023 Planning Committee. Five meetings were held with the Bond 2023 Planning Committee to analyze data, establish priorities, develop options, and ultimately craft a 2023 Bond recommendation. The Bond 2023 Planning Committee recommendation was unanimous committee support to call for the Bond 2023, including Proposition B - Stadiums. As a result of the May 6, 2023 Bond Election, Bond 2023 Proposition B - Stadiums failed.

District Administration invested in the services of a professional estimator to provide estimates for all projects presented to the Bond Committee to be considered. The estimates provided included 15% soft costs (architect, engineer, etc.) and 10% inflation for all projects. The goal of utilizing professional estimator services for the Bond 2024 planning process and project estimates is to ensure the district can complete all bond projects on the final list should the propositions pass during the May 2024 election.

Each proposed or approved project would have its own project timeline.  Many variables can impact these timelines, including labor shortages and the global supply chain.  Some projects are linked and will require specific sequencing of completion, and others will need to be completed while school is not in session or the impacted extracurricular teams are not in season.

A timeline could only be developed after final propositions and projects are approved.  At that time, a projected length for each project and the overall bond will be developed.

The 2024 Bond Committee has appointed 7 members to serve on the Bond Advisory Committee. The Bond Advisory Committee will work with Calallen ISD Administration to develop bond project priorities, receive regular bond project progress reports, and ensure fidelity of the actual work and expenditures to the projects presented in the 2024 Bond Referendum. The committee's work will continue until all bond funds have been expended should the 2024 Bond be approved by voters.