Trustees in Frisco Independent School District are asking voters to approve both a property tax increase and more than a billion dollars in bonds that must be repaid with property taxes.
With interest, the bonds on the November ballot would cost Frisco ISD property taxpayers an estimated $2.1 billion—almost double the amounts voters will see on their ballot.
That’s according to the district’s own voter information documents.
Frisco ISD taxpayers currently owe $3.3 billion in bond debt principal and interest.
In addition to billions in new bond debt, Frisco school board trustees are asking voters to approve a permanent increase in the district’s maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate. M&O taxes are used to pay for school operating expenses, primarily employee salaries and benefits.
Trustees are required to hold a Voter-Approval Tax Ratification Election (VATRE) when they want to raise M&O taxes higher than the maximum allowed by state law without a public vote.
According to the district’s tax rate notice, Frisco ISD’s proposed property tax rate is a 3.8-percent increase in the M&O rate.
But the average Frisco homeowner will pay $759 more in taxes—a 15 percent increase.
What’s On the Ballot
Frisco ISD voters will see four propositions on their ballots:
Proposition A: VATRE would increase the total property tax rate by about 3 cents per $100 of valuation, costing the average homeowner an additional $759 per year.
Proposition B: $986 million ($1.9 billion with interest) would be spent mostly on school renovations and updates, as well as a new $102 million middle school, new buses, and $26 million worth of new turf.
Proposition C: $88.2 million ($170.8 million with interest) would pay for technology devices and infrastructure.
Proposition D: $11.2 million ($21.6 million with interest) would be spent building a new tennis center.
While the total cost to taxpayers isn’t disclosed on the ballot, state law requires school districts to warn voters of the tax impact of bonds by including in the ballot language “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.”
The district can raise the debt repayment (I&S) tax rate at any time in the future without further voter approval. Even if trustees don’t increase the tax rate, rising property values will result in higher tax bills. Additionally, regardless of tax rates at any given time, the total tax burden on district property owners is increased by the amount of the bond debt.
Vote No vs. Vote For
Some Frisco residents have started a “Vote No” campaign against the tax hike and bonds.
Lennea Hartoonian, who is helping organize the campaign, told Texas Scorecard she is voting “no” on all four propositions “because Frisco ISD gets an ‘F’ on being financially responsible.”
According to her “Reasons to Vote No,” increasing the tax burden on an already economically stressed community is “irresponsible.”
Hartoonian says Frisco ISD’s operational spending has outpaced revenue growth in four of the past five years, despite declining student enrollment, while property values have grown over 60 percent.
“Where is the money going?” she asked. “Frisco residents are not an endless source of money for the district. A billion-dollar annual budget is a very important piece of this puzzle.”
But citizens are up against two well-financed marketing campaigns promoting the propositions—a political action committee funded mainly by contractors who stand to benefit from the bonds and the district itself spending taxpayers’ money to push the tax increases.
Frisco ISD officials have spent an undisclosed amount of tax money on materials promoting their bonds and tax rate increase, including a dedicated bond website, mailers, and signs posted outside and inside school campuses.
State law prohibits spending school resources on political advertising that supports a ballot issue, but district officials maintain that their tax-funded “information” is not electioneering. Earlier this year, Frisco ISD settled an electioneering lawsuit filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The propositions are also getting boosted by the Vote For Frisco ISD PAC. The PAC is primarily funded by contributors connected to what some call the “education-industrial complex”—architects, construction companies, consultants, and other businesses that stand to gain financially from bond projects.
As of September 30, the pro-bond PAC had raised $116,000, including $20,000 from EMA Engineering & Consulting and $5,000 to $10,000 each from a dozen other construction and contracting companies.
“The vultures are waiting to cash in on the hard-working taxpayers’ pockets,” said Hartoonian.
Voters will find the school bond and tax increase propositions at the bottom of their ballot.
Early voting is underway now through November 1. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.
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