Voters in Van Alstyne Independent School District are divided over a $550 million bond on the November 4 ballot that would actually cost local property taxpayers double the advertised amount.
Campaigns have sprung up both supporting and opposing the ballot measure, Proposition A.
The district wants to spend the borrowed money on several new schools, new administration and transportation facilities, and other land and infrastructure purchases. All of the bond debt would have to be repaid with local property taxes.
District officials say expansion is needed to accommodate anticipated growth.
Van Alstyne ISD currently serves about 2,900 students but projects it will exceed capacity in the next five years and reach 6,000 students by 2034-35.
But critics note that the district’s bond marketing fails to tell the full story.
If passed, the bond would cost an estimated $1.1 billion with interest—double the amount voters will see on the ballot. That’s according to Van Alstyne ISD’s Voter Information Document, posted on the district’s bond website as part of the Notice of Election.
A typo on the document incorrectly shows the interest as $54 million instead of the correct $554 million.
Van Alstyne ISD property taxpayers are already on the hook for $440 million in outstanding school bond debt principal and interest. The district emphasizes that approving the bond would not increase the I&S (interest and sinking) tax rate, which is used to repay bond debt.
“The current rate of $0.50 per $100 of property valuation will remain the same,” the bond website states.
In fact, the district can’t raise its I&S rate, as its current 50-cent rate is the maximum allowed by state law. However, regardless of the tax rate in any given year, the bond would increase the local property tax burden by $1.1 billion.
Texas law requires school districts’ ballot language to inform voters about the tax impact of the bonds by stating at the top of each proposition: “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.”
The ballot proposition also informs voters that they are approving “the levy of taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds.” How much property tax is “sufficient” to repay the debt is decided each year by school district trustees, based on the cost to pay back borrowed bond money.
Van Alstyne ISD states on its bond website that increasing property appraisals and growth within the district will “offset the cost of new bonds without requiring a tax rate increase.” The district also acknowledges the new debt would keep the tax rate at the current maximum level for a longer time.
While the district is careful to say “no tax rate impact,” pro-bond political action committee Yes for Van Alstyne ISD PAC created signs stating “NO TAX INCREASE”—even though residents’ tax bills will increase as their property values increase.
The Yes PAC treasurer is John Spies, a former Van Alstyne ISD superintendent.
The PAC has reported $15,000 in contributions, all from WRA Architects. The company designed Van Alstyne High School and is likely to bid on contracts funded by the proposed bond.
Yes for Van Alstyne ISD PAC has reported spending $9,886 for advertising and consulting from Mayes Media Group, which is headed by one of the top campaign consultants in Texas.
Bond opponents, on the other hand, are a purely grassroots movement.
Marchelle Bell created the Vote NO Van Alstyne BOND Facebook group to counter what she calls the Yes PAC’s “misleading” claims.
“We have zero funding,” Bell told Texas Scorecard. “Just taxpayers/residents doing what they can and when they can.”
She said they borrowed generic “Vote NO More BOND DEBT” signs from a neighboring group, while another Van Alstyne resident purchased the yellow-and-black “Vote NO” signs made famous by longtime taxpayer champion and anti-bond activist Amy Teal.
Bell emphasized that the Vote NO campaign is not opposed to taking care of students and preparing for future growth.
“We just want it to be done responsibly, and with more public input and oversight,” said Bell. “We want them to break up the bond and let the taxpayers decide what they want to do with their money.”
Local conservative group Texoma Patriots is sponsoring an event on Saturday afternoon, October 18, that will include discussion of the bond. Organizers relocated the event to the American Legion in Van Alstyne after the original venue, South State Bank, canceled on them.
Early voting begins Monday, October 20, and runs through October 31. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4.
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