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The bond is based on our needs and commitment to Arlington students. A districtwide comprehensive assessment identified the district’s capital needs, and then the volunteer Capital Needs Steering Committee helped establish priorities through a formal recommendation to the Board. The majority of the bond is for facility improvements and replacements in keeping with the District’s commitment to protect its facility investments and provide modern, relevant and safe schools for our students. The District has many aging buildings that require significant maintenance and, in some cases, reconstruction.

Coupled with our facility needs is our commitment to give Arlington students a world-class education. Our goal is to ensure that each student will graduate from high school prepared for his or her college or career of choice. In keeping with this mission, the bond would provide improved learning spaces for full-day Pre-K, fine arts, career and technical education and athletics. It would also improve technology access for students and teachers, improve school security and provide transportation for students to the program of their choice.

The 2019 Bond was designed to build on the 2014 Bond program, align with the District’s strategic plan and improve access and equity for all students.

Texas law governs what revenue raised from school bonds may be used for. Texas Education Code §45.001(a)(1) says bonds may be issued for:

“(A) the construction, acquisition, and equipment of school buildings in the district;

(B) the acquisition of property or the refinancing of property financed under a contract entered under Subchapter A, Chapter 271, Local Government Code, regardless of whether payment obligations under the contract are due in the current year or a future

(C) the purchase of the necessary sites for school buildings; and

(D) the purchase of new school buses.”

The 2019 Bond would provide funds for improvements in the areas of facilities, fine arts, safety, security and technology, and transportation. Visit the Projects Overview page for more details.

AISD’s staff, together with consultant architects, engineers and facility planning consultants, conducted a thorough needs assessment of the entire district. This included a complete evaluation of building conditions, instructional priorities, enrollment trends, transportation, security, technology and more.

Then a 37-member Capital Needs Steering Committee, comprised of parents, teachers, principals, community members, business representatives and college and university representatives, was appointed by the Board of Trustees to evaluate and prioritize the district’s identified capital needs. Through a series of meetings, community dialogues and surveys, the committee reviewed and analyzed the district’s capital assessment and listened to the community’s priorities and questions. In June, the committee reported its findings to the AISD Board of Trustees and recommended the bond program to fund the priorities.

NO tax rate increase would be needed for the proposed 2019 Bond program. In other words, the current Interest & Sinking tax rate, the rate that funds bond payments, is sufficient to cover the additional debt accrued by the proposed bond program.

The overall tax rate will actually go down next year. While the I&S rate will remain the same, the other part of the tax rate, the Maintenance & Operations rate, will go down by $0.07, whether the bond passes or not. This decrease is mandated by the state’s new legislation ().

The district has a five-year plan to implement all aspects of the bond.

All AISD schools would receive updates and condition improvements except Arlington College and Career High School, which just opened in August in a fully-renovated building.