Frisco ISD voters rejected more than $1 billion in school bonds Tuesday as the district seeks to make campus upgrades and purchase new equipment.
The largest bond in the package was $986 million Proposition B, which would have gone toward new buses, safety and security upgrades, and renovations on 20 aging schools. After years of rapid expansion, the district has in recent years seen a slowdown in growth.
Prop B failed with 52% of voters against it, according to unofficial results. It was one of three bond proposals in a package totaling almost $1.1 billion. Voters rejected all items.
The district’s Proposition C, for $88 million, would have funded new computers and upgrade online infrastructure. More than 52% of voters rejected it.
Prop D failed with 73.1% of voters against it. It would have paid for a new $11.2 million tennis center.
Proposition A was a Voter-Approved Tax Rate Election, or VATRE. It would have helped cover some of Frisco ISD’s $30 million budget deficit, which the district took on partly to provide teacher raises. The VATRE would have raised the maintenance and operation tax rate to 2.94 cents per $100 in property valuation, increasing the tax bill on an average home in Frisco ISD by $158 a year.
Prop A failed with 57.5% of voters against it.
The last time Frisco floated bonds was in 2018, when voters approved a more than $690 million package for four new schools and repairs on other facilities.
Frisco was among several North Texas districts to put forward bond packages this election.
In Allen ISD, voters approved two bond proposals but rejected a third in the district's $447.4 million bond package.
The $419 million Prop A was the largest of the three propositions. It passed with 56.1% of the vote, according to unofficial results.
It'll fund improvements to aging buildings, pay for a multi-purpose facility, add new buses, improve internet and Wi-Fi district wide, and fund campus security upgrades.
Proposition C, for $23.1 million, also passed, with 53.4% of the vote. It allows the purchase, replacement and updating of technology, like individual computers.
Proposition B, for $5.4 million in repairs to athletic tracks, failed with 51.8% of votes against it.
East of Dallas, voters in still-growing Sunnyvale ISD approved three bond propositions totaling $94.9 million.
The bonds will pay for building upgrades and repairs, parking and traffic control, and safety and security items. The district also got money to build a new activity center and pay for storm and track repairs. Each of the three propositions passed with more than 65% of the vote, according to unofficial totals.
In Highland Park, 68.3% of voters approved a bond package valued at $137 million. It will fund new buses, new construction, land acquisition, renovation and building improvements, as well as equipment for school safety & security.
Birdville ISD voters, meanwhile, rejected a $48 million bond to pay for the school district's multi-purpose indoor practice fields. The proposition failed with 62.7% of voters against it.
Grapevine-Colleyville and Celina ISDs both passed voter-approved tax rates to help offset deficits and rising expenses while districts still wait for new legislative funding, unchanged since 2019.
Voters in Northwest and Coppell ISDs rejected their districts' VATREs.
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
