Fate of Fort Worth school bond uncertain, ones for stadiums, gyms and auditoriums fail
A $1.2 billion bond proposal to renovate Fort Worth schools is stuck in uncertainty, as approval prevailed by just 42 votes in the election night count.
The proposition, which would provide for major renovations of all district middle schools and the construction of four elementary schools, has 50.09% of the vote in its favor, with 12,342 votes for the bond and 12,300 against.
Voting results are unofficial, and it is possible not all ballots have been counted. Absentee ballots received on Wednesday will be counted if they were postmarked by Tuesday, according to the Tarrant County Elections Office. Ballots mailed from U.S. citizens residing outside the country may be counted if clearly postmarked on or before Tuesday and received by the elections administrator no later than the fifth day after Election Day.
The Tarrant County Elections Office said Administrator Heider Garcia could only be reached by email. Garcia did not reply to an email asking how many vote-by-mail ballots the county expects to receive or when election results are expected to become official. He also did not respond to a phone message left at the office.
District officials said they are waiting until the county certifies the election to comment on the next steps for the bond.
Voters rejected three other school district bond proposals.
Proposition B, which would have provided more than $98 million for the renovation of middle school and high school auditoriums, lost with 54.12% voting against the proposal.
Proposition C, which would have provided more than $104 million for three stadiums, lost with 66.34% voting against the proposal.
Proposition D, which would have provided more than $76 million for the renovation of school gyms and fields, lost with 58.03% voting against the proposal.
More than $904 million would go into district middle schools if the bond is approved. Rosemont Middle School, a 99-year-old campus, would receive the most money — more than $71 million.
“I think investment in this bond will allow us to get a stronger foothold in early childhood education,” Fort Worth schools Superintendent Kent Scribner told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board last month.
The district’s bond projects were based on a 2017 assessment that determined the specific projects and dollar values, according to district officials. The district’s long-range master plan created in preparation for the 2017 bond established specifications for high schools. Those specifications were translated to district middle schools for the proposed bond, officials said.
The bond is not expected to increase the district’s tax rate, but property valuations in Tarrant County have been trending up.
Under state law, grounds for a recount require the difference of votes between the choices to be less than 10% of the number of votes received by the winning choice. For Proposition A, the threshold would be a 1,234-gap, meaning it easily qualifies.
For a ballot-measure election, a recount can be requested by the campaign treasurer of a specific-purpose political committee that was involved in the election or by a petition of at least 25 eligible voters.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 5:48 PM.
