School districts are required by state law to ask voters for permission to sell bonds to investors to raise the capital dollars required for projects such as renovation to existing buildings or building a new school. Essentially, the voters are giving permission for the district to take out a loan and pay that loan back over an extended period of time, much like a family takes out a mortgage loan for their home. A school board calls a bond election so voters can decide whether or not they want to pay for proposed facility projects.

Bond funds can be used to pay for new buildings, additions and renovations to existing facilities, land acquisition, technology infrastructure and equipment for new or existing buildings. Bonds cannot be used for salaries or operating costs such as utility bills, supplies, building maintenance, fuel and insurance.

The proposal was developed by the Facilities Planning Committee, comprised of parents, LISD staff, alumni, and local community members. They studied new enrollment data and district financial information to recommend a plan that addresses current and future capacity at each campus and represents a pivotal first step towards the long-range vision for the district.

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Anyone who is registered to vote within Lexington ISD boundaries, regardless of which county, is eligible to vote in the bond election. The deadline to register is October 10, 2023.

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Due to inflationary costs for materials and labor, and due to the Facilities Committee determining that additional scope was needed to accommodate for more of the growing student population, a larger budget was required than for the previous bond. This bond proposal addresses capacity issues for a longer duration compared to the previous proposal.

Based on previous experiences, the Facilities Planning Committee felt it was important to have flexibility if individual project costs were affected by market variations. By law, the school district cannot spend more than the approved bond amount, and the committee was committed to presenting the budgets in a way that would be truthful even if individual project costs experienced fluctuations.

The dollar amounts that were made public for Proposition A and Proposition B of the bond proposal were provided to the LISD Board of Trustees as turn-key costs, which include a comprehensive estimation of project expenses, encompassing current market construction costs, projected escalation costs at a rate of 1% per month until the projects bid, all soft costs such as permits and fees, as well as expenditures for furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FFE). The cost for the elementary projects is $9.7 million and in order to maximize cost savings, the middle school and high school projects will be packaged together, totaling $38 million. Exact breakdown costs for each project scope will not be known for certain until the bond is approved, and the projects are designed, bid and construction contracts and furniture, fixture & equipment purchases are awarded.

The Board and the Bond Oversight Committee will be committed to delivering exactly what was communicated to voters for no more than the dollar amount approved by voters. The tentative budget for each individual item in each proposition could undergo adjustments caused by fluctuations in costs for labor and materials without compromising the overall budget for the proposition. For this reason, only the turn-key cost for each proposition is made public as the maximum possible cost.

Should Senate Bill 2 not pass, and the homestead exemption remains at $40,000, the average home of $263,087 in market value will see a tax increase as follows:

Annual increase from 2022 - $411.82

Monthly increase from 2022 - $34.32

For context, the last increase to the homestead exemption that was brought to Texas voters in May 2022 passed with 84.95% voting "yes" and 15.05% voting "no". This 2022 measure increased the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000. The proposed exemption increase for 2023 more than doubles that, from $40,000 to $100,000.

The current enrollment as of 10/06/23 is 1068. Based on a third-party demographics report by Zonda Education, Lexington ISD is projected to grow by almost 600 students by the 2031-2032 school year.

It is important to clarify that the decision to temporarily pause the acceptance of transfer students was made this year, which contributes to the effect on the overall enrollment. This measure was taken to ensure that students living within our district have access to the educational resources and facilities of where they reside.

However, it is essential to recognize that this pause in transfer student enrollment is a short-term strategy to accommodate our district’s current needs. Data and trends indicate that our district will experience enrollment increases. The proposed bond aims to address not only current overcrowding, but also provide additional space and resources to accommodate the projected growth and potential future transfer students when it becomes feasible to do so.

If the bond is approved by voters, Lexington ISD is committed to the specified projects being presented to our community. In order to ensure transparency and accountability in the implementation of projects funded by the bond, the district will form a Bond Oversight Committee comprised of community members to meet continuously throughout the design and construction process.

Each proposed bond project provides needed additional student capacity for the current space needs. As the district student population is currently projected to grow over the next decade, the master plan addresses the likely next steps needed when the added capacity provided in this proposed bond package is filled up. Based upon current growth projections, the proposed bond would provide the additional current needed capacity to get the district to 2030/31 before needing to reconvene and plan to add more building space to accommodate the # of students.