Schools

Austin ISD Board Sets Upcoming Bond Package At Just Over $1 Billion

Trustees had hoped to keep the referendum at under the billion-dollar mark but insist that no tax increase will be assessed to homeowners.

EAST AUSTIN, TX — Austin Independent School District officials on Monday called for an upcoming bond package scheduled in November to be in the amount of $1.05 billion, a larger amount than they had hoped.

The various projects outlined in the upcoming bond would've been $1.13 billion, but officials plan to use more than $80 million in leftover bond proceeds and sell land in East Austin to bring the amount down. Trustees insisted there will be no tax rate increase even though the bond package exceeded the $1 billion figure they had hoped to avoid.

The board meeting was standing room only given the intense interest in the upcoming bond package and its implications to the entire district. The bond package calls for 16 new or modernized campuses and other improvements. A $70 million earmark would be used to build various structures at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders and another $60 million to build a new Northeast middle school.

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The bond referendum will be put before voters in November. To see the full list of projects covered in the bond package, click here.

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