Following low voter turnout in a Barbers Hill Independent School District bond election, the district is now more than $1 billion in debt.
According to the Baytown Sun, only 1,807 of more than 38,000 registered voters participated in the May 2 election, which is a historical low. The bond proposition passed 1,110-582.
Proposition A—the lone proposition on the ballot—authorized $95 million ($168,083,212.50 with interest) to be used to construct, acquire, and equip a new “athletic fieldhouse” and for stadium improvements.
Bonds must be repaid with interest by local property taxpayers. That’s why Texas law requires each ballot proposition to state: “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.”
Posted documents reveal the district already had $836,160,286 in debt prior to the passage of Prop A, making the district’s debt service now over $1 billion.
Cre* Architects is listed on financial documents as the largest donor to the political action committee that backed the bond, at $20,000.
Located in Houston, Cre8 Architects is a “collaborative partnership of creative individuals providing design services to educational, commercial, and public agency clients.”
On its website, Cre8 highlights several projects, including school campuses, athletic complexes, and stadium projects.
Jed Purcell of Purcell Construction Inc. contributed $17,000 to the pro-bond PAC. Purcell Construction has previously done work for Barbers Hill ISD.
Odin Construction Inc. also contributed $17,000 to the PAC, while Matrix Engineers gave $5,000.
The district does not estimate an increase in property taxes for a residential homestead with an appraised value of $100,000.
In its calculations, the district assumes “changes in estimated future appraised values within the district” and assumes taxable growth of “500,000,000 per year through 2030.”
So while the tax rate may not rise, higher appraisals do mean higher tax bills for residents.
