With voters set to head to the polls in a few months to vote on Conroe Independent School District’s $807 million bond, the Montgomery County Republican Party is coming out swinging against the massive property tax hike proposal.
At a recent meeting, the Montgomery County Republican Executive Committee, composed of the county’s elected precinct chairs, approved a resolution strongly opposing CISD’s $807 million bond. The resolution,introduced by Precinct 60 (Conroe) Chairman Andy Nedrow, passed unanimously.
One of the big reasons cited for the Republican Party’s opposition to the bond is the fact that it will raise taxes significantly. The district is also currently over a billion dollars in debt, and the new bond package, if passed, would add $807 million to the debt burden placed on the backs of taxpayers.
The MCRP resolution states that, “CISD’s spending is out of control, with the latest data from the Texas Comptroller’s website showing that Conroe ISD is already $1,136,590,000 in debt, which adds up to over $19,000 of debt per student.”
Additionally, the resolution states that, “the bond would increase CISD’s property tax rate one cent per $100 valuation in the first year of the bond and three cents per $100 valuation over the life of the bond, despite the fact that we are taxed enough already.”
Precinct chairs also took issue with the fact that the CISD board put the bond on the ballot for an off-year May election, with turnout expected to be low. The Republican Party of Texas platform calls for bonds to be placed on the November General Election ballot when turnout will be higher.
The MCRP urges voters to oppose the CISD bond which it believes is ,”neither conservative nor fiscally responsible, and is not in line with the principles of the Republican Party.”
The election for the bond will be held on May 4th.
