Arlington district can handle more bond debt, and proposal will transform schools

In a recent letter to the editor, a writer expressed concerns about the bond proposal before voters Tuesday that would provide funding that Arlington public schools need to ensure positive outcomes for our children.

Do her worries have merit? Let’s take a look.

First, she wonders if it’s a good idea for the school district to take on $966 million more in debt. Borrowing money to develop of school buildings and other physical needs is the only way those things get done.

So, a better question may be how well school officials are managing the debt, all of which voters have approved in previous bond elections. The country’s major credit rating agencies for public entities give the district their highest scores.

Wall Street’s Moody’s Investors Service, as an example, confirms that the district’s “debt burden has declined despite additional debt issuance due to strong tax base growth.”

That very favorable outcome is a result of the district aggressively paying off its existing bonds and the growth in property values resulting from strong local economic expansion.

Not only is that a good way to manage debt, but it also leads to how school officials can assure voters that their support for the new bond will not result in an increase in the school system’s property tax rate.

Paying off old debt before adding new debt is how that outcome is achieved.

Next, the writer asked: “Are we going to get what we vote for or is it a shell game?”

Past performance is a good way to address that question. The big bond program approved by voters in 2014 has demonstrated results of projects at every school and will be completed on time and under budget despite increases in construction costs over the last five years.

Just as in 2014, the projects were designed by a broad-based citizens committee, and another citizens panel monitors whether the district delivers the promised results. The new proposal follows that same successful formula.

Speaking of results, here are some highlights of what’s planned for the next several years.

“The bond begins the process of addressing the district’s aging facilities, many of which are entering their sixth and seventh decades of service,” said school board member Justin Chapa, who I reached out to for further insight. “The centerpiece is a plan to rebuild three campuses in East Arlington.”

Together with renovations to other aging school facilities, the result will be larger, modern facilities and ensure that the campuses are not overcrowded.

Others have asked why the bond package doesn’t provide for increased teacher pay. The answer is, as has always been the case, is that bond funds must be used for capital improvements and cannot be used for compensation.

To keep teacher pay in perspective, Chapa points out, “There’s work to be done, but the district remains competitive among metroplex districts, ranking in the top half to top third for most levels of experience with nearly 90 percent of the district’s operating budget going to compensation.”

Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos long ago adopted the ambitious goal of having each of the district’s more than 60,000 children job- or college-ready upon their graduation from high school.

Such an objective, measured in terms of preserving our society, is a compelling reason to keep the district in a position to achieve such an outcome by planning for its future.

A vote in favor of the package on Tuesday is how that will be possible.

All of it is thoroughly outlined here: aisd.net/bond2019.