The tax impact of the 2024 GISD bond

Two bond propositions from Graham ISD will soon be on the May election ballot which, depending on area voters, could have an impact on the district's tax rate.

The estimated cost for Proposition A is $27,500,000 and the anticipated date of completion is August 2026. The estimated cost for Proposition B is $10,500,000 and the anticipated date of completion is August 2025.

The district adopted tax rate for the 2023-2024 fiscal year is $1.0239 per $100 valuation, which is made up of $0.7133 in maintenance and operations (M&O) and $0.3106 in interest and sinking (I&S).

The two bond propositions together would total $38 million and if both passed together would account for a 1.5 cent increase in the I&S rate.

“M&O (is) maintenance and operations. That’s what pays all our regular bills. It pays teacher salaries, turns on lights, buys fuel, buys buses. ...The I&S tax rate, (or the) interest and sinking tax rate, is the bond debt and currently we have about 31 cents that we’re paying for the high school bond,” Cruse said. “So that penny and a half (from the two upcoming propositions, if passed,) goes on top of that part of the tax rate. Without the wind farm it would take eight cents of (added) tax on the I&S tax rate instead of a penny and a half to pay for the $38 million.”

The 1.5 cent increase is only if both bond propositions pass together. If either bond option passes alone, it would be a less than zero cent impact on the tax rate.

“So for either proposition... passes on its own... it’s not the $38 million (combined total) so it won’t take a penny and a half so it will not necessitate a property tax increase,” Cruse said. “The board of trustees will have to look at all of that financial information and they’ll have to decide what, if any, and how much, they may be able to decrease the tax rate. That’d be a decision that we’ll make this summer.”

The superintendent said if Proposition A passed by itself the GISD Board of Trustees could potentially lower the tax rate by six or seven cents and if Proposition B passed by itself a potential drop of 20 centers on the I&S tax rate could be considered.

“People, when they go to the polls, they will have the choice to vote ‘Yes’ for Proposition A and Proposition B, ‘No’ for Proposition A and Proposition B, or ‘Yes’ for one and ‘No’ for the other,” Cruse said. “That’s just like any other thing on the ballot. Every single item on the ballot stands alone.”

Cruse said the wind farm changed everything about the district looking at bond options. The additional value on the I&S side from the wind farm made the district want to take advantage of that for a project.

“The wind farm stays on the tax rolls (and) it depreciates over time and then it has a floor that it will stay at, whatever that current value is. ...So this is just maximizing the value of that wind farm,” Cruse said. “…In the year 2030 the high school bond pays off. This is phase one of future facility planning. This is phase one to get where we need to get done now and then about a year, a year and a half, maybe two years out from the 2030 (high school bond) paying off, we need to look at school facility needs.”

Cruse said the next phase, if the board and superintendent at the time still share the current vision, is to consider building a new 3rd through 5th grade campus on the existing site of the Woodland Elementary School campus.

“(We would) look to pass that bond right as the high school bond is paying off so then, hopefully, we can do that without an increased tax rate. That would be the goal there,” he said. “We would look at doing either a new Woodland Elementary or potentially significant renovations to the junior high because there’s going to be future facility needs for the district. And so this (bond Proposition A) is just phase one of that project.”

GISD Bond Propositions

Proposition A will consolidate the district from three to two elementary schools. This will be accomplished by adding space at Pioneer Elementary School to serve pre-K through second grade students. Minor renovations will be completed at Crestview Elementary School to serve third through fifth grade students.

Cruse said the consolidation of the elementary schools will help early learner transitions between campuses.

“Kids start school their very first year in kindergarten and then they have to start over again in first grade at a new facility, new staff, new people. So every time you have a grade-level transition, you take a little bit of a step back in some time and adjustment and some of those kinds of things,” he said. “I believe wholeheartedly that we’re going to be able to serve our families and our students better when we’re able to have pre-K through two in one building and three through five in another. Because that family of educators are going to get to know those families and those kids and what they need and we can help them learn to read and write and do math more efficiently when we have them in a grade level band for three and four years.”

The proposition would also include the demolition of the existing Woodland Elementary School campus, except for the gymnasium and the parking lot. The district would maintain ownership of the property.

Proposition B on the ballot will be for a student multipurpose facility which has an estimated cost of $10,500,000 and an anticipated completed date of August 2025. Cruse said the option is not just something intended for use by students in the football program.

“We have about 500 kids in grades seven through 12 that participate in extracurricular activities. Everything from band, dance, cheer, football, girls and boys soccer, boys and girls baseball, track, golf and all those kinds of things. All of those programs are going to be able to use this facility,” he said. “Now, will it benefit football? Yes. I mean, because (if) there’s going to be lightning, or it’s a torrential downpour they’re going to go in there. Band is going to benefit greatly from the heat-related workouts and those sorts of things.”