On November 2, voters in the Fort Worth Independent School District voted on a series of propositions to allocate funding for major projects.
Of the four propositions on the ballot, only Prop. A, the largest bond, garnered support from the public. Election officials certified the vote on Tuesday, November 9, passing Prop A by a mere 57 votes.
Proposition A will provide more than $1.2 billion in renovations and improvements at FWISD middle schools. The funds will be used to renovate hallways and cafeterias, expand science and technology spaces, and fund the construction of at least one new school in the district.
The three failed measures would have made additional improvements, including constructing three new stadiums, replacing turf at existing stadiums, and funding improvements to auditoriums at high school and middle school campuses. All three measures would have amounted to a total bond of nearly $300 million.
“We are thrilled that voters are in support of our plan to bring our aging middle schools up to standard,” said FWISD Superintendent Kent Scribner in a press release. “These funds will renovate some of our oldest campuses and bring them into alignment with our high schools.”
“We are also grateful for the many citizens who attended one of our 73 bond presentations – at town halls, community group and service club discussions, or neighborhood association meetings. Voting is a part of our democratic process and we are pleased to accept their decision.”
While the bond measure barely passed, the opposition is hard to pin down. A vocal critic of FWISD Joe Palmer, a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the district’s mask mandate, wrote an editorial published ahead of the vote by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram criticizing district officials’ management practices.
“Taxpayers and parents should not reward the current Fort Worth ISD Board of Trustees with $1.5 billion (plus interest) in bonds the district has proposed. They cannot be trusted to make good decisions,” wrote Palmer in conjunction with Todd Daniel, who is also involved in the mask mandate suit.
Palmer and Daniels wrote that the district’s recent rating of a “C” in performance, along with significant sources of funding and a declining population, are factors that can’t be solved with a bond measure.
Officials with the FWISD state that the bond will not raise property taxes, a key factor for many homeowners deciding the matter. Fewer than 25,000 votes were counted in Fort Worth for the measures.
Overall voter turnout was weak, with only 8.3% of eligible voters submitting a ballot according to official Tarrant County voting tallies.
Exactly how and when the funds will be available is not yet established. Each school will submit proposals of their individual needs, and funds will be allocated as they become available.
FWISD believes that the first bond measures will be available to sell in Spring 2022. The bonds are expected to be financed using existing money over a five-year period.