PRE-BOND Information


school funding basics

What Is A Bond?

Bonds are debts incurred by a school district and sold by the District to competing lenders to raise funds to pay for the costs of construction, renovations and equipment. They are repaid over a period of years, much like a loan for a home or major home improvement.

The Brazosport Independent School District has been challenged financially over the past several years due to the school finance system in Texas. The funding system brought a $10 million dollar reduction over the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years. This reduction eliminates our capability to fully maintain our facilities with our general operating funds.BISD has not had an approved bond since 2002. Therefore, there are no additional dollars available for major facility maintenance. Many of our facilities are aging and are in need of improvements. In addition, our technology and security systems do not meet the current needs of our district and the educational trends. Simply put, we are behind the times and our students are not going to be competitive in a global market if we do not make changes. The purpose of this bond is to close the gap between where we are and where we need to be for the 21st century. This is intended to be a bond of necessity.


School Districts are funded in two different ways:

  • Maintenance and Operations
  • Interest and Sinking
Maintenance and Operations/Interest & Sinking

Bond Process

The Board of Trustees voted to develop a citizens bond advisory committee comprised of representatives from each stakeholder group. The role of the advisory committee is to 1) consider and evaluate the needs of the district, 2) develop recommended propositions for Board approval. The committee’s meeting schedules, agendas, minutes and presentations will be posted on this website. This committee serves a purely advisory function in accordance with Board policy BDB (legal). All final decisions will be made by the Board of Trustees.

Selection process:
Members of the committee were selected based on nominations by Board members, Superintendent, and received nominations. The goal was to get a broad representation of district partners from the business community, industries, city officials, Board of Trustees district representatives, teachers, parents, those with previous bond committee experience.

All meetings will be held at the Brazoswood High School library from 6:00-8:00 pm.

Meeting Agendas:

November 17, 2011
  • Committee Purpose and Process
  • Bond History
  • Current State of the District
  • School Finance Lesson
  • Bond Survey
November 30, 2011
  • Presentation of Identified Needs and Proposed Projects
  • Finance and Tax Impact Scenarios
  • Other project considerations
Meeting Materials:

December 15, 2011
  • Review of Proposed Projects
  • Follow-up on other project considerations
  • Rating of projects
January 12, 2012
  • Develop recommendation to the Board of Trustees
    • Propositions, Size/Amount, Action
Facilitator:
Dan Schaefer, Chief Financial Officer

Committee Members:

Committee Members

District information will be available to the committee members at each meeting through representatives from district departments. These participants are not part of the committee but include:


Tax Information

The tax increase related to this bond would take place over a period of years with the peak increase occurring in 2023.

Estimated Tax Increase
Estimated Tax Increase - Tax Information

Exemption Information

Local Exemption – 10% of Homestead values.

State Exemption - $15,000 reduction in Homestead value.

Over 65 and Disabled Homestead Exemption – Taxes are frozen at the age of 65 or becoming disabled. The passage of this bond would result in no additional taxes for individuals in these categories.


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