DALLAS — Texas' November bond ballot will include more than $1 billion from two rapidly growing school districts west of Houston.
School boards in the Katy Independent School District and nearby Fort Bend ISD approved ballot measures in August calling for $748 million and $484 million of bonds respectively.
Other Houston area school districts preparing bond proposals for 2015 include the Klein and Conroe ISDs. In May, the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD won voter approval to issue $1.2 billion of bonds.
The Fort Bend ISD bonds would require no tax rate increase to finance $365.4 million of construction, including four new elementary schools, classroom additions and other major building maintenance expenses.
The Fort Bend ISD proposal includes $26.9 million for security cameras, security vestibules, window film, access controls that include video intercom, emergency generators, and other security measures.
Katy ISD is again asking voters to approve bonds for a second high school stadium next to the existing stadium at a cost of $58 million. Voters last year defeated a $99 million proposal that included $69 million for the stadium. Polls show that the stadium proposal is the least popular item on the ballot, according to a citizen's bond committee.
Katy ISD, one of the state's fastest growing school districts, is expecting about 3,000 new students each year, officials said.
With about $1.1 billion of outstanding debt, KISD last went to market in July 2013 with $376 million of bonds. The district has underlying ratings of Aa2 from Moody's Investors Service and AA from Standard & Poor's with stable outlooks. The district's bonds receive triple-A ratings with a guarantee from Texas' Permanent School Fund.
Fort Bend ISD received a Standard & Poor's upgrade on its underlying rating to AA-plus from AA on May 12. The new rating matches that of Fitch Ratings. Both include stable outlooks on the district's $886 million of outstanding debt.
"We believe the district's economy will likely continue to benefit from its participation in the expanding Houston metropolitan statistical area, resulting in ongoing enrollment and property tax base growth," S&P analyst Omar Tabani wrote. "We do not expect to raise the rating due to the district's current debt and future bonding plans."
Fort Bend ISD's bonds will also carry the triple-A guarantee from the Texas PSF.
