Victoria ISD reviews bond debt service, forms Bond Action Committee for possible 2025 ballot

Randy, a district staff member, gave the Board of Trustees an overview of Victoria ISD's current bond debt, how debt service is funded through an interest-and-sinking (I&S) tax rate and the timeline for calling a bond election. He told trustees a bond could be called for the November general election or the May election and that the board would need to call a November referendum by Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, if it chose that date. The board has a scheduled meeting on Aug. 14, 2025, before that deadline.

The presentation explained why a district may sell bonds all at once or in staged issues, how voters' ballot language limits how bond proceeds may be spent, and why the district tracks callable dates and defeasance opportunities on outstanding issues. "If you live anywhere in the Victoria ISD school district, you may [vote], and currently, under Texas law, it takes 50% of the voters plus 1 for that referendum to pass," Randy said. He also described the voter-approved tax rate election (VATRE) as a tool limited to the maintenance-and-operations (M&O) side of the budget and noted that VATRE…