School bonds in GCISD and Cleburne are worth the cost

Two Fort Worth-area school districts have put multimillion-dollar bond proposals on the May 7 ballot, putting property owners in an emotional tug-of-war between the benefits of better schools for their kids and the extra tax burden that usually comes with them.

Grapevine-Colleyville is asking voters to decide on almost $249 million in bond projects, including security enhancements, rebuilding 57-year-old Cannon Elementary, classroom additions and multipurpose activity buildings at the district’s two high schools.

Cleburne ISD proposes projects costing $130.5 million, primarily to build a new high school and turn the current Cleburne High into a career/technology education and fine arts facility. Also included are upgrades to two elementary schools and mobile computers for middle school and high school students.

That’s a lot of money in each case.

Yet compared with other Texas school districts, Grapevine-Colleyville and Cleburne ISD are well-positioned to take on more debt.

Grapevine-Colleyville is wealthy, primarily because much of Dallas-Fort Worth Airport is within its boundaries. The Tarrant Appraisal District lists Grapevine-Colleyville’s taxable property value at $11 billion, meaning it can afford a lot of debt.

The district says its outstanding bond debt is $336.7 million. That’s equal to 3 percent of its taxable property value, which is below the state average of 3.28 percent.

Cleburne ISD’s taxable property value is $2.6 billion. Its outstanding bond debt is $37 million, putting the debt/value ratio at just 1.4 percent compared to that state average of 3.28 percent.

But saying the districts are in good shape to take on more debt is not the same as each taxpayer being able to bear the cost. Taxes would not go up for homeowners with an over-65 exemption.

Grapevine-Colleyville’s bonds would bring a tax rate increase of as much as 12.81 cents, the district says. The district’s average home has a taxable value of $275,739, which means its tax increase would be $353.28 a year.

Cleburne ISD lists its potential tax increase on a $100,000 home (close to the district average) at $197.52 a year.

Up-to-date schools are expensive, but they are incredibly valuable.

The Star-Telegram Editorial Board recommends voting for the bond proposals in the Grapevine-Colleyville and Cleburne school districts.

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 7:05 PM with the headline "School bonds in GCISD and Cleburne are worth the cost."