Austin Independent School District, Texas, Bond Issue (November 2017)
| Proposition: Austin Independent School District Bond Issue |
|---|
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 7, 2017 |
| Status: |
 Approved
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| Topic: |
| Local school bonds Tax: Unknown Matures in: Unknown |
| Related articles |
| Local school bonds on the ballot November 7, 2017 ballot measures in Texas Travis County, Texas ballot measures Local education on the ballot |
| See also |
| Austin Independent School District, Texas |
A bond issue was on the ballot for Austin Independent School District voters in Travis County, Texas, on November 7, 2017. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of issuing $1.05 billion in bonds to modernize or construct new schools. |
| A no vote was a vote against issuing $1.05 billion in bonds to modernize or construct new schools. |
District officials estimated that passing the bond issue would not increase the tax rate.[1]
Election results
| Proposition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 47,969 | 72.07% | ||
| No | 18,590 | 27.93% | ||
- Election results from Travis County Elections Office
Project list
Full list
A full list of the proposed projects set to be funded by the bond revenue are below:[2]
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Text of measure
Ballot title
The following was the bond issue proposition title:[3]
| “ | THE ISSUANCE OF $1,050,984,000 SCHOOL BUILDING BONDS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION, RENOVATION, EXPANSION, IMPROVEMENT, MODERNIZATION AND EQUIPMENT OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN THE DISTRICT, INCLUDING (I) TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT, (II) SAFETY AND SECURITY SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT, (III) IMPROVEMENTS TO ADDRESS OVERCROWDING AND SAFETY CONCERNS, (IV) IMPROVEMENTS FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, AND (V) REINVENTION PROGRAMS FOR TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY LEARNING; THE PURCHASE OF THE NECESSARY SITES FOR SCHOOL BUILDINGS; AND THE PURCHASE OF NEW SCHOOL BUSES, AND THE LEVY, PLEDGE, ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF AD VALOREM TAXES ON ALL TAXABLE PROPERTY IN THE DISTRICT, SUFFICIENT, WITHOUT LIMIT AS TO RATE OR AMOUNT, TO PAY THE PRINCIPAL OF AND INTEREST ON THE BONDS AND THE COSTS OF CREDIT AGREEMENTS EXECUTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE BONDS.[4] | ” |
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[5]
| “ |
Shall the board of trustees (the "board") of the austin independent school district (the "district") be authorized to issue bonds of the district, in one or more series or installments in the principal amount of $1,050,984,000 for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, renovation, expansion, improvement, modernization and equipment of school buildings in the district, including (i) technology systems and equipment, (ii) safety and security systems and equipment, (iii) improvements to address overcrowding and safety concerns, (iv) improvements for students with special needs, and (v) reinvention programs for twenty-first century learning; the purchase of the necessary sites for school buildings; and the purchase of new school buses, which bonds shall mature, bear interest and be issued and sold in accordance with law at the time of issuance; and shall the board be authorized to levy, pledge, assess and collect, annual ad valorem taxes on all taxable property in the district sufficient, without limit as to rate or amount, to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds, and the costs of any credit agreements (including credit agreements executed or authorized in anticipation of, in relation to, or in connection with the bonds), all as authorized by the constitution and laws of the state of texas and the united states of america?[4] |
” |
Support
Supporters
Media
- The Austin Chronicle said: "What this $1 billion bond does is provide a little bit of relief for every single campus, and a lot for the most needy campuses and communities. The most controversial point of the bond is the great East Austin switch: giving the LASA magnet its own campus at the former Johnston High, moving Eastside Memorial High to the renovated Old Anderson campus, and allowing LBJ High to expand into the rooms currently occupied by LASA, as well as adding a medical track. Opponents call it a racist plan that further segregates East Austin. Supporters see it as way to give both LASA and LBJ room to expand, and perhaps heal the scars left when Old Anderson – Austin's first high school for African-American students – closed down. The two sides have been at loggerheads on this, but it's one component of a massive plan, and should not capsize the entire deal. Ultimately, AISD's bond represents a moral question for Austin voters: Do they want students to be stuck in old, ill-suited buildings, or do they want them in safe, modern campuses that are suited for a modern education? Moreover, voting against this bond will not prevent underenrolled schools from closing; it just means that students enrolled there will have nowhere to go when those schools do close. There is still a lot of work to be done on district facilities, but this is a long-overdue first step. We encourage AISD residents to vote for the bond and for public education."[6]
Opposition
Opponents
Arguments against
The Austinites Against AISD's 2017 Bond made the following arguments against the bond issue:[9]
| “ |
We are voting AGAINST AISD's $1,000,000,000 Prop 1 on November 7th.
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” |
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the governing officials of the Austin Independent School District on June 26, 2017.[10]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Austin Independent School District Local school bonds Bond Issue. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Austin Independent School District, "21st-Century Learning Without a Tax Rate Increase," accessed October 25, 2017
- ↑ Austin Independent School District, "Updated List of Intended Projects Summary Table," accessed October 25, 2017
- ↑ Austin Independent School District, "Bond Proposition and Official Ballot," accessed October 26, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Austin Independent School District, "Austin ISD 2017 Bond," accessed August 31, 2017
- ↑ Austin Chronicle, "Chronicle Endorsements," October 20, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "Save East Austin Schools Political Action Committee," accessed October 26, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "Austinites Against AISD's 2017 Bond," accessed October 26, 2017
- ↑ Austinites Against AISD's 2017 Bond, "Austinites AGAINST AISD'S 2017 BOND," accessed October 26, 2017
- ↑ KXAN, "AISD approves $1.05 billion bond election for November," June 26, 2017
