Bryan ISD presents $397 million bond package as priority maintenance; officials say tax rate will not increase

Deputy Superintendent Dr. Brian Merrill told the Bryan ISD Board that the district is proposing a $397,000,000 bond referendum made up of three propositions intended largely for priority maintenance and facility improvements. Merrill said slides presented to the board and the public allocate roughly 82% of the package to general/priority maintenance (Prop A), 17% to athletics (Prop B) and 1% to technology (Prop C).

"We can issue $397,000,000 in new bonds without increasing the district's tax rate," Merrill said, explaining the district's multiyear practice of early principal payments and conservative debt management. He also warned that state ballot language will state a potential property-tax increase even when the district does not plan to raise the tax rate: "the state of Texas requires every school bond ballot to say, 'this is a property tax increase,' even if the property tax will not go up," he said.

Merrill and facilities staff described priority maintenance work the bond would fund, including roof repairs, plumbing, electrical and HVAC replacements districtwide, and specific projects such as renovating laboratories at Bryan High, adding a cosmetology and barbering lab at Rudder, and rebuilding Bryan Collegiate (identified as needing a rebuild after an elevated facility‑condition index). On athletics, staff said the bond would rebuild the Merrill Green field house (not the stadium) and provide synthetic turf, track resurfacing and uniform scoreboards at multiple campuses.

Board members and staff emphasized financial transparency. Merrill and finance staff said Bryan ISD's long-term approach—early principal payments and conservative borrowing—keeps debt levels modest relative to property values and peers, citing figures shown in the presentation (the slide deck listed the district's outstanding bond principal, debt per student and debt as a percentage of taxable value). "Our I&S tax rate is actually lower than the majority of our peers," Merrill said, while asking voters to review the archived committee materials and slide decks online.

Public commenters at the meeting largely urged support for the bond. Chris Cartwright, a member of the bond steering committee, said the process informed his vote and asked residents to "vote yes on each proposition in the Bryan ISD bond." Kathy Allen and Amy Dubose also urged approval, saying the bond would address maintenance and expand student opportunities across academics, fine arts, CTE and athletics.

The district encouraged residents to review full materials online and to vote; presenters reminded the public of election hours and locations and pointed to the district website for full slide decks, campus fact sheets and FAQs. The board then returned to other agenda items; the bond referendum remains subject to voter approval at the polls.