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Cedar Hill ISD board approves up to $30M bond issuance to capture estimated $6.7M state hold‑harmless funds
Summary
Trustees approved a parameters order allowing up to $30 million in bonds to be issued as Cedar Hill ISD seeks state hold‑harmless payments created by recent tax‑exemption changes; Hilltop Securities estimated roughly $6.7 million could be provided by the state if closed before Sept. 1, 2025.
The Cedar Hill Independent School District board voted unanimously to follow the administration’s recommendation to issue bonds under a parameters order for the Unlimited Tax School Building Bond Series 2025, not to exceed $30,000,000. Ramona Ross Bacon moved to accept the recommendation; Ayanna Cabrera Cook seconded, and the chair called the vote. The motion passed unanimously.
Jeff Robert, the district’s financial advisor from Hilltop Securities, explained the timing urgency and the effect of recent legislation. "On this $30,000,000 issuance, we'd be looking at probably around $6,700,000 of state money," Robert said, referring to hold‑harmless funding available to districts that sell and close bond issues before Sept. 1, 2025. Robert cited Senate Bills 4 and 23 as changes that increase homestead exemptions and therefore shift taxable value that the hold‑harmless provisions are designed to offset.
Robert described conservative assumptions for pricing and interest rates (he used a 6% cap in the parameters to avoid missing the Sept. 1 deadline) and said pricing was scheduled to occur the next day should the board adopt the order. The order delegates final pricing authority to district designees, subject to the parameters included in the order; bond counsel and financing staff were present to answer legal questions.
Next steps: with the parameters order approved, staff will proceed with pricing and finalization of the sale under the delegated authority if the final terms meet the board’s established parameters.
