Elections 2022Local NewsTaxes & SpendingLocal Bond Proposals Total $18.5 Billion in Texas’ May 7 Elections

Across the 207 bond items, 83 percent are from school districts, with 17 percent from cities and only one item from a water district — a $20.8 million item for water and sewage infrastructure upgrades by the Laguna Madre Water District.

The largest single item is from Forney ISD, which aims to spend nearly $1.3 billion to build five new elementary schools, expand two existing elementary schools, build four middle schools and expand two others, and construct a new high school.

Forney ISD says it expects the district enrollment to grow by 35,000 students in the next decade. On its notice, the district says the bond “will not increase the district’s tax rate,” keeping it steady at $1.3747 per $100 of value. But by not adopting the no-new-revenue rate, this bond would increase property tax collections as appraisals increase.

If approved, the tax bill for an average Forney homeowner will increase about $112 — provided the constitutional amendment bolstering school district homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000 passes on the same day.

Should that constitutional amendment not pass, the bond would cause that tax bill to increase by $318.

In 2019, the Texas legislature capped school district property tax increases at 2.5 percent without voter approval. That means each of these ISD items, requiring voter approval, would increase property taxes by at least 2.5 percent.

Like Forney ISD does here, many localities will sell their bond as fiscally sound if it keeps level or decreases the tax rate, but they all will increase property taxes otherwise voter approval would not be necessary.

The top five most expensive bond items are each school districts, itemized for the construction of new buildings. The sixth most expensive is the City of San Antonio’s $471.6 million bond for street, bridge, and sidewalk renovation. But that is just one of six items San Antonio has put before its constituents, with purposes such as drainage and flood control; parks expansion; library renovations; public safety facility improvements; and miscellaneous affordable housing projects, including housing subsidization for low-income residents.

Over $400 million worth of these proposals are aimed at constructing new stadiums, including Klein ISD’s $75.2 million football stadium proposal that is part of a $1.1 billion bond package.

In total, $3.5 billion of these items are itemized for an athletic facility purpose.

The smallest item up for approval is a $360,000 bond by the City of Winnsboro, population 3,360, for parking lots — but it’s among seven other items totaling $11 million in spending for the city.

Last November, $10.8 billion in local bonds appeared on ballots and for the first time in nearly a decade, a majority of the school district bonds were rejected by voters.

Early voting for the May 7 election begins April 25.

See the full list of bond proposals on the May 7 ballot below.