DALLAS - With a battle over education funding nearing its conclusion in the Texas Legislature, school districts across the state will test taxpayer support with nearly $4 billion of bond proposals May 9.
Cities, counties and special districts will seek nearly $1 billion for projects in fast growing areas,
Proposals are heaviest in the Dallas and Houston areas.
The affluent Dallas suburb of Frisco will ask voters to approve $267 million, including $125 million for roads. Frisco is expected to grow with the move of the Toyota headquarters to nearby Plano.
Montgomery County, a booming suburb north of Houston, is seeking $350 million of road bonds, including a project in The Woodlands that would help handle traffic near Exxon-Mobil's new campus.
Among school districts, the Klein Independent School District serving The Woodlands area has the largest proposal on the ballot at $498 million.
Another fast-growing Montgomery County school district, New Caney ISD, is asking voters for $173 million in bonds for the construction of new campuses, more classrooms for current campuses, renovating existing campuses, constructing a district natatorium and purchasing land for future campuses.
West of Houston, the Alief ISD is seeking $341 million of bonds. The western suburbs of Houston are growing quickly, as are those to the north in Montgomery County.
Joe Smith, a former school superintendent and founder of the website
"In May, I think a light turnout is favorable to the school district," Smith said. "If you have any historical numbers, you know how many favorable votes you are going to need to overcome the negative vote, because those negative people are always going to vote."
Economic factors will vary across the state, Smith believes.
"I think the statewide or national economy does play a role, but I think the local economy is a far greater factor," he said.
Some of the most interesting elections will be in areas where voters rejected previous bond proposals.
In the Eanes ISD near Austin, the Marshall ISD in East Texas and Wichita Falls in North Texas, voters are reconsidering bond issues after defeating them in the last election.
Marshall ISD is proposing $109 million of bonds, a measure that would put impoverished district in debt after previous bonds were paid off.
"They have no debt right now," Smith said. "They are in desperate need. Their facilities are terrible."
In far West Texas, the Ysleta Independent School District serving suburban El Paso is seeking approval of $450 million of bonds to finance repairs and new construction in the district. Ysleta serves Fort Bliss Army Post, which has grown with the base realignment process over the past decade.
Ysleta Superintendent Xavier De La Torre said the reason many schools are in need of extensive repairs or need to be rebuilt is because the needed improvements were not addressed on a regular basis. With this issue, De La Torre does not expect to seek another bond issue for several years.
Near the southern tip of Texas, McAllen ISD is proposing a $297 million bond issue to build new schools and finance repairs to others.
McAllen ISD had to deal with a lawsuit trying to stop the election before the proposal could go to the polls.
