Voters Approve Austin ISD $1B Bond Package, Travis County Bonds

AUSTIN, TX — Voters on Tuesday approved the Austin Independent School District's $1.1 billion bond referendum — the largest debt issuance in its history — by an overwhelming margin.

Late Tuesday, the final tally (while unofficial) showed that 72.1 percent voted in favor of the proposition while 27.9 percent voted against. All told, 66,512 votes were cast. A total of 47,931 registered voters cast ballots in favor of the bond package while 18,581 voted against.

Austin ISD promoted the idea of issuing bonds in order to rebuild several of its aging schools, build new campuses, upgrade existing facilities and address overcrowding.

In related news, Travis County voters also approved a pair of bond packages collectively valued at $185 million centered on transportation and parks enhancements with similar overwhelming margins.

• Proposition A, a $93.4 million bond package centered on roads, parks and drainage projects, was approved by 73 percent of the electorate, with 68,917 voting in favor.
• Proposition B, covering $91 million in parks and land conservation projects, secured 73 percent approval. There were 68,919 votes cast in support of the measure.

From earlier:

AUSTIN, TX — It's Election Day, with myriad issues up for vote on Nov. 7.

In Travis County, voters will vote on a combined $185 million package broken up in two separate referendums related to transportation and parks. The bond packages largely centers on quality-of-life improvements, including enhancements to infrastructure and parkland acquisition:

• Proposition A is a $93.5 million package of roadway improvements that adds capacity to the Travis County road network for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians, officials explained. The proposition seeks to fund necessary safety improvements, including low water crossings and flood-prone roadways, as well as new bridges and safer routes for walking and biking.
• Proposition B is a $91.5 million funding package for acquiring new parkland, improving facilities at existing parks, adding much-needed sports fields, and purchasing conservation easements to help protect Travis County’s environmentally sensitive open space.

County officials said the combined $185 million package, if approved by voters, would have an impact on property taxes on the average home ($305,000) of no more than $2 a month.

The Austin ISD also will have a bond proposal up to a vote, proposing to upgrade various learning spaces for the benefit of students. It's a sizable debt issuance of more than $1 billion that's yielded divisiveness between those approving the measure with its attendant construction plans and those favoring upgrades to schools targeted for closure assuming the bond package were to pass. Here's the language to be found on the ballot:

PROPOSITION A The issuance of $1,050,984,000 school building bonds for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, renovation, expansion, improvement, modernization and equipment of school buildings in the district, including (i) technology systems and equipment, (ii) safety and security systems and equipment, (iii) improvements to address overcrowding and safety concerns, (iv) improvements for students with special needs, and (v) reinvention programs for twenty-first century learning; the purchase of the necessary sites for school buildings; and the purchase of new school buses, and the levy, pledge, assessment and collection of ad valorem taxes on all taxable property in the district, sufficient, without limit as to rate or amount, to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds and the costs of credit agreements executed in connection with the bonds.

For a list of voting places on Nov. 7, click here. For polling place wait times and directions from your current location click here.

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