Austin ISD trustees review $1.75 billion and $2.25 billion bond proposals, with differing tax impacts and project lists

The Board of Trustees of the Austin Independent School District met July 28 at the AISD Central Office for a work session to continue discussion of a potential bond election for November 2022 and to receive feedback on two draft bond packages the administration and the bond steering committee developed. The district presented a $1.75 billion proposal that would not raise the debt-service tax rate and a $2.25 billion proposal that would include a 1¢ increase to the debt-service portion of the tax rate.

The district’s chief financial officer, Ed Ramos, told trustees the 1¢ debt-service increase would translate, in simple terms, to about $40 a year for a homeowner with a $400,000 house and $50 for a $500,000 house. Ramos also said state rules require the district to reduce its maintenance-and-operations (M&O) tax rate by 6.5¢, so the district expects a net reduction in the total AISD tax rate under either proposal.

Why it matters: trustees and the administration said rebuilt and modernized facilities would reduce maintenance and utility costs now…