On Nov. 5, voters in 10 North Texas school districts will be asked to weigh in on more than a dozen bond or tax proposals.

Below is an overview of the school district's VATRE and bond props, as well as links to the district pages for further details.

Voters considering the following proposals will be asked whether they are “for” or “against” each.

ALLEN ISD BOND PROPOSALS

The Allen Independent School District is asking voters to consider three bonds worth $447 million this November. Click here to learn more about the Allen ISD bond package.

ARGYLE ISD VATRE PROPOSAL

Proposal A — Adopted the Argyle Independent School District's ad valorem tax rate of $1.2869 per $100 assessment for the current year, a rate that would result in a 10.4 percent increase in the district's maintenance and operations tax revenues in the year Compared to the current year, the previous year will result in an additional $6,915,000.

Read more about the Argyle Bond proposal here.

BIRDVILLE ISD BOND PROPOSAL

Proposal A — The issuance of bonds in the amount of $48,000,000 by the Birdville Independent School District for the purpose of constructing, improving and furnishing multi-purpose indoor facilities at each high school and the imposition of taxes sufficient to cover the principal amount and to pay the interest on the bonds. This is an increase in property taxes.

Read more about the Birdville bond offering here.

CELINA IS FATHER'S PROPOSAL

Proposal A — “Ratification of the Celina Independent School District ad valorem tax rate of 1.2358 for the current year, a rate that will result in a 37.64 percent increase in the district's maintenance and operations tax revenues for the current year compared to the previous year will, That's an additional $10,539,090.

Read more about the Celina bond offering here.

COPPELL IS FATHER'S PROPOSAL

Proposal A — “Ratification of the Coppell Independent School District's ad valorem tax rate of $1.0343 for the current year, a rate that would result in an 8.28 percent increase in the district's maintenance and operations tax revenue for the current year will result in the previous year, which is an additional $11,166,995.

Read more about the Coppell bond proposal here.

FRISCO ISD BOND AND VATRE PROPOSAL

The Frisco Independent School District is asking voters to consider nearly $1.1 billion in bonds and a $0.0294 increase in the voter-approved tax rate this November. Click here to learn more about the Frisco ISD bond package and VATRE.

GRAPEVINE-COLLEYVILLE ISD VATRE PROPOSAL

Proposal A — Enactment of the ad valorem tax rate of $0.9233 per $100 assessment in the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District for the current year, a rate that compares to a $1 increase in the district's maintenance and operations tax revenue .08 percent for the current year compared to the previous year, which is an additional $1,513,042.

Read more about the GCISD bond offering here.

HIGHLAND PARK ISD BOND PROPOSAL

Proposal A – The issuance of $137,300,000 in bonds for the construction, acquisition, renovation, improvement and equipping of school buildings for the district, including equipment for school safety purposes, for the purchase of buses for new school buses and for the purchase of necessary sites for school buildings and the imposition of a tax sufficient to pay the principal and interest on the bonds and the cost of any loan agreements entered into in connection with the bonds. This is an increase in property taxes.

Read more about the Highland Park bond offering here.

NORTHWEST ISD VATRE PROPOSAL

Proposal A — “Ratification of the ad valorem tax rate of $1.1179 per $100 assessment in the Northwest Independent School District for the current year, a rate that would result in an increase of $4.29 in the maintenance and operations tax for the district percent for the current year compared to the previous year, which is an additional $13,849,486.”

Read more about the Northwest Bond offering here.

SUNNYVALE ISD BOND PROPOSALS

Proposal A – The issuance of $77,895,000 in bonds by the Sunnyvale Independent School District for the construction, improvement, expansion, renovation and equipping of school facilities and for safety and security
District safety improvements, including the purchase of school buses and the collection of taxes sufficient to pay the principal and interest of the bonds. This is an increase in property taxes.

Proposal B – The issuance of $16,945,000 in bonds by the Sunnyvale Independent School District for the construction, acquisition and equipment of a new district multi-purpose student activity center and the collection of taxes sufficient to cover the principal and interest to pay on the bonds. This is an increase in property taxes.

Proposal C – The issuance of $900,000 in bonds by the Sunnyvale Independent School District for track resurfacing at Raider Stadium and storm damage repairs, and the imposition of taxes sufficient to pay the principal and interest on the bonds. This is an increase in property taxes.

Read more about the Sunnyvale bond proposals here.

HOW ARE TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICTS FUNDED?

School districts in Texas are funded from three sources: federal money, state money and local taxes. Local taxes include two tax rates: Maintenance and Operations (M&O) and Interest and Sinking (I&S), which are set by the school board. M&O is the money used to fund the day-to-day operations of a school district, including salaries and professional development, utilities, curriculum, building maintenance and student services. I&S is the money generated from bonds to finance new buildings, renovations, security, buses and other large expenses. The I&S tax rate is used to repay the bonds. Funding approved for M&O and I&S projects cannot be mixed.

How can bond money be spent?

Bond money can only be spent on capital projects such as new construction, renovations, safety improvements, land acquisition and other one-time costs. It cannot be spent on salaries, staff, operating costs, fuel or other recurring costs. The money repaid from a bond includes interest over a period of time, usually 30 years. Many districts attempt to pay off their bonds early to avoid paying interest.

WHAT IS A FATHER?

VATRE stands for Voter Approval Tax Rate Elections. If a district needs to increase funding for salaries, daily operating expenses, or other recurring costs, it must ask voters for approval of an increase in the M&O Voter Approved Tax Rate (VATR). Many districts have VATREs to increase M&O funding because they are running a deficit. State lawmakers have not increased funding for schools since 2019, and given inflation and the addition of unfunded mandates, such as having an armed officer on every campus, many school districts say they are strapped for cash.

“THIS IS AN INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAX”

A state law requires school districts in Texas to include the statement “This is a property tax increase” on every ballot proposal. This applies even if the proposal does not increase the tax rate. In their proposals, many Texas school districts say they can issue bonds without increasing the I&S rate. This is often done by taking on new bond debt while paying off old, declining debt. Read the county's proposal carefully to understand whether voting for the bond package will result in a change in the tax rate. Even without an increase in the tax rate, changes in property tax valuation could result in a higher tax burden for the property owner.