Dripping Springs ISD Board Calls Bond Election

By law, homeowners 65 years and older who have taken certain steps to apply would not see an increase in their total school taxes above the amount at which their taxes were frozen (unless new improvements were constructed).

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas—At a special meeting Feb. 12, the Dripping Springs Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to call for a $132 million bond referendum. The bond package includes funding for:

• expansion of Dripping Springs High School to capacity for 2,500 students
• construction of a new elementary school (#5)
• construction of a new Walnut Springs Elementary adjacent to Dripping Springs Middle School
• conversion of the current WSE campus into space for the district administration and daycare facility
• miscellaneous projects at Dripping Springs Middle School, Dripping Springs Elementary and Rooster Springs Elementary
• turf and track improvements at Dripping Springs High School and Dripping Springs Middle School
• improvements and expansion of the District Transportation facility
• district-wide technology infrastructure improvements
• district-wide maintenance upgrades
• land acquisition

Approval of the bond is not expected to result in a change to the current tax rate, which is $1.52 ($1.17-Maintenance & Operations/$0.35 Interest & Sinking) per $100 of certified property value. Actual property tax bills are a product of the tax rate and the appraised property value.

By law, homeowners 65 years and older who have taken certain steps to apply would not see an increase in their total school taxes above the amount at which their taxes were frozen (unless new improvements were constructed).

The bond proposal is the result of a district planning process that involved community members, parents, campus and district staff. Throughout the fall, the Long-Range Facility Planning Committee evaluated the current state of district facilities, reviewed financial information and demographic data, and studied DSISD’s facilities capacity in relation to current and projected growth in student enrollment.

The Bond Steering Committee then formed in January to take those findings and consider project options and cost. Upon completion of the committee’s analysis, a recommendation was presented for consideration by the Board of Trustees.

Residents must be registered to vote in order to be eligible to vote in this bond election. The deadline for registration to vote in this election is April 5, 2018. Early Voting will be April 23-May 1, 2018, and Election Day is Saturday, May 5, 2018, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting locations (both early and Election Day) will be the DSISD Administration Building and Rooster Springs Elementary.

Detailed information soon will be available at www.DSISDbond.net.