• The centralization of district departments to enable the removal of portable buildings
• Back-up facility for emergency situations that could arise
• An emergency shelter for the community
• Professional Development space for training
• Community Education space for athletic and fine arts programs
• See the proposed layout here

Just as homeowners borrow money in the form of a mortgage to finance the purchase of a home, a school district borrows money in the form of bonds to finance construction, renovation and other capital projects. Both are repaid over time, but in order for a school district to sell bonds, it must go to the voters for approval. 

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.

School districts are required by law to ask voters for permission to sell bonds to investors in order to pay for capital expenditures for projects like building a new school or making renovations to existing facilities. Districts take out a loan and then pay that loan back over an extended period of time, much like a family takes out a mortgage loan for their house.

The construction of a new high school is currently within the range of $88-$115 million, which is beyond our current bonding capacity. Additionally, FHS is not in need of a campus replacement at this time.

If approved, taxpayers in Fredericksburg ISD is not anticipating a tax rate increase as a result of this bond.

Since FISD’s last bond election, the legislature passed a new law requiring school districts to include the language “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE”, even when the district is not expecting a rate increase. This is because the issuance of new bonds increases the term of the debt repayment at the current rate. The 2022 bond will not impact the tax rate, but will elongate the repayment term at the current rate of 10 cents.

A few combined factors have put FISD in this position, including our conservative fiscal approach, the paying down of debt, and low interest rates.

Planning for the district’s current and future needs is one of the fundamental duties of school boards and district administrators. As such, there is a constant evaluation of facilities and other needs in light of the age of district-owned structures, changes in technology, and even changes in instruction. When the district determines that it has needs beyond the capacity of the maintenance and operations budget, the Board may issue a bond. The maintenance and operations budget covers the day-to-day expenses of the district, where 77% is directed towards staff salaries and benefits. The Texas Education Agency in the Financial Integrity Ratings System of Texas (Schools FIRST Rating) sets the guideline for school districts to have three months of operating expenditures in fund balance. Maintaining the required fund balance as well as the operational needs of the district (with limited state funding) may restrict districts from building adequate savings to fund facilities and infrastructure needs to accommodate construction costs of building a new facility or repairing and renovating an older one.

For residents 65-years and older, their school district tax bill will not increase, even if their property values increase (excluding property improvements) as long as an approved Homestead and Over-65 Exemption application is on file with the Gillespie County Appraisal District, and the property has been owned as of Jan. 1 of the tax year.

Anyone who is a registered voter and lives within the Fredericksburg ISD district boundaries is eligible to vote in this election.

Voter registration applications are available in most government buildings and are available at all FISD campuses. To vote in the May 2022 election, your voter registration application must be postmarked by April 7th.

To see if you’re registered, click here https://teamrv-mvp.sos.texas.gov/MVP/mvp.do

• The centralization of district departments to enable the removal of portable buildings
• Back-up facility for emergency situations that could arise
• An emergency shelter for the community
• Professional Development space for training
• Community Education space for athletic and fine arts programs
• See the proposed layout here

Upon approval of the 2022 bond, the new Fredericksburg Middle School is scheduled to open in August of 2024. This is possible because much of the design process has already been completed in the months leading up to calling for this bond election.