Aledo Bond 2023 FAQs
Aledo ISD Voters Approve $123.8 million Bond
ALEDO, Texas, May 6, 2023 – Aledo Independent School District voters approved a $123,800,000 bond proposal that will include a 2.5 cent Interest and Sinking (I&S) tax rate increase on Saturday, May 6, 2023.
The bond proposal, which was constructed by 49 community members who made up the Aledo Growth Committee, was approved by 56.37 percent of the votes (2,636). In this election, there were 4,676 total votes (with 100 percent reporting in Parker County and almost 100 percent reporting in Tarrant County), including 3,055 during the early voting period.
“We are grateful for the Aledo Growth Committee and thankful that the community supported the proposal put forward by their fellow citizens and neighbors in approving this bond,” Aledo ISD Superintendent Dr. Susan Bohn said. “It took the AGC many hours and studying student enrollment, financial information, districtwide facility needs and instructional goals to build a proposal that voters could get behind. As Aledo ISD’s rapid growth doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon, we look forward to getting to work immediately on the Bond 2023 projects.”
Aledo ISD voters approved a bond proposal that focuses on immediate student capacity needs at the elementary level, that includes additional and repurposed space at the high school level, that addresses the need for the district to repair, maintain and improve facilities as well as facility safety and security equipment as technology improves, and that provides additional funding for AISD to purchase buses, technology and land to meet needs due to growth.
“As we continue to grow at such a rapid pace, this bond proposal will help us keep up with the immediate fast growth at the elementary level particularly,” AISD Board President Hoyt Harris said. “I am thankful for the many, many hours of hard work put in by the Aledo Growth Committee in creating this bond proposal.”
From August 2022 through February 2023, the Aledo Growth Committee met 13 times - with two additional community-wide meetings - and also sent out a community-wide survey for feedback. In addition to the 2023 bond proposal, the AGC also presented a long-range plan for growth for the district for the next six years. The AGC will continue to meet and study updated data over the coming year-plus to begin to implement the long-range plan for growth.
“I am proud of the AGC and the work we put in on behalf of our growing community by putting together a bond proposal that represented our community’s expectations,” AGC co-chair Kelli Stumbo said. “This election shows their commitment to the future of our great school district.”
The proposal uses two years of projected taxable value growth but not all of the district’s available bonding capacity. While AISD’s Interest & Sinking tax rate will increase $0.025, it is expected that the district’s overall tax rate will actually decrease due to continued compression of the Maintenance & Operations tax rate. AISD Trustees have lowered the overall tax rate each of the last four years, decreasing the tax rate 22.71 cents total, or an average of $0.057 per year over the last four years. The 2022-23 tax rate compression for Aledo ISD was $0.025 and is expected to be between $0.04 and $0.08 cents in 2023-24.
PASA, the district’s demographer, projects that, by the 2024-2025 school year, projected enrollment at 5 of 6 elementary schools will exceed maximum capacity. With updated demographic reports pushing the projected need for more secondary space slightly further out - in 2027-28 projected district middle school enrollment will exceed max capacity, 2028-29 for high school enrollment - the AGC decided in its long-range plan for growth that the decision on how to build additional high school space would be better made in 2025 when committee members can reassess enrollment, bonding capacity, construction costs, and legislative actions.
“Throughout the Aledo Growth Committee process, we talked about how the proposal we put forth would be for the benefit of our kids in Aledo ISD,” AGC co-chair Dan Reilley said. “We are thankful that the Aledo community put their faith in the AGC and that our students will see the direct benefit of the 2023 bond proposal.”
The proposition includes:
- New Elementary School No. 7 - which will be named Lynn McKinney Elementary that will be located on district-owned property northwest of the new McAnally Middle School ($59.8 million)
- Additions/repurposed high school space ($20.2 million)
- Replacement furniture for students in grades 9-12 that will completes districtwide furniture replacement ($5 million)
- Safety and security ($5 million)
- Technology ($6.5 million)
- Maintenance ($5 million)
- School buses ($4.5 million)
- Land for future school sites - including additional high school facilities ($17.8 million)
Bond 2023 FAQs - BOND ELECTIONS
- How was the bond package constructed?
- What is a bond package?
- What is included in the 2023 bond package?
- When will the election be held?
- Will this bond election impact taxpayers 65 old and older?
How was the bond package constructed?
What is a bond package?
What is included in the 2023 bond package?
When will the election be held?
Will this bond election impact taxpayers 65 old and older?
Bond 2023 FAQs - ALEDO GROWTH COMMITTEE
- What is the Aledo Growth Committee?
- Who is on the AGC?
- What is the charge of the AGC by the School Board?
- Who leads the AGC meetings?
- When does the AGC meet?
- What is discussed at the AGC meetings?
- Where can I find information from the AGC meetings?
What is the Aledo Growth Committee?
Who is on the AGC?
What is the charge of the AGC by the School Board?
Who leads the AGC meetings?
When does the AGC meet?
What is discussed at the AGC meetings?
Where can I find information from the AGC meetings?
Bond 2023 FAQs - FINANCE
- Has the Aledo ISD tax rate decreased this year?
- Does the district receive state funding for the construction of schools?
- What are the two components of the tax rate?
- If the District takes on more debt on the Interest & Sinking side of the budget, does that mean less money goes to teachers and classrooms?
- What types of revenue does the District receive in the General Fund?
- Why does the District have to take on debt for construction?
- What has the District done to pay off debt?
- What are the district’s bond ratings?
- Are there specific funds set aside or budgeted for district police, security, and emergency response planning?
- If there is a future economic downturn, will AISD be able to pay off debt associated with this bond?
- What does bond capacity mean?
- What is recapture? Is the district’s Interest & Sinking tax rate subject to recapture (Robin Hood)?
- What’s the relationship between local revenues and state revenues?
Has the Aledo ISD tax rate decreased this year?
Does the district receive state funding for the construction of schools?
What are the two components of the tax rate?
If the District takes on more debt on the Interest & Sinking side of the budget, does that mean less money goes to teachers and classrooms?
What types of revenue does the District receive in the General Fund?
Why does the District have to take on debt for construction?
What has the District done to pay off debt?
What are the district’s bond ratings?
Are there specific funds set aside or budgeted for district police, security, and emergency response planning?
If there is a future economic downturn, will AISD be able to pay off debt associated with this bond?
What does bond capacity mean?
What is recapture? Is the district’s Interest & Sinking tax rate subject to recapture (Robin Hood)?
What’s the relationship between local revenues and state revenues?
Bond 2023 FAQs - CONSTRUCTION
- Where would parents/buses access Elementary No. 7 if the 2023 bond election passes?
- What is the plan for the naming of the new Elementary No. 7?
- How does the district determine the cost of the Elementary School #7 and Aledo High School Multi-Purpose Addition construction?
- What is the life cycle of the new school in this bond proposal?
- What size land does the district need for a school?
- What is the district doing to find land for new schools?
Where would parents/buses access Elementary No. 7 if the 2023 bond election passes?
What is the plan for the naming of the new Elementary No. 7?
How does the district determine the cost of the Elementary School #7 and Aledo High School Multi-Purpose Addition construction?
What is the life cycle of the new school in this bond proposal?
What size land does the district need for a school?
What is the district doing to find land for new schools?
Bond 2023 FAQs - DEMOGRAPHICS
- What has the district done/is the district doing to help with improving Old Weatherford Road?
- If the 2023 bond doesn’t pass, how many portable buildings is the district expected to purchase for elementary school students?
- Where will the seventh elementary school be located?
- What will be the new attendance zones if a new elementary school opens?
- When will the new elementary attendance zones be determined?
- What is the district doing to find land for new schools?