What you need to know
According to the Jan. 12 workshop agenda, trustees are scheduled to review feedback from the community survey and focus groups conducted after the Nov. 4 election, along with updated financial information and facilities data.
The survey was sent to Friendswood ISD residents Nov. 19, according to district documents, and is intended to help guide future planning.
The survey asked respondents:
- Whether the respondent voted for or against the bond package
- What changes the respondent would like to see for a future bond proposal
- What specific projects would be supported
District officials said they are evaluating which projects could be considered critical as part of any future proposal.
The background
Voters rejected all four propositions in FISD’s $165 million bond package during the Nov. 4 election, according to results from Galveston County.
The bond proposal was split into four propositions aimed at addressing facility and technology needs across the district, including a replacement campus, athletic facility improvements and technology upgrades, according to district documents.
The bond would have resulted in a projected tax rate increase of $0.16 per $100 valuation, based on projected 2025 taxable values, according to district officials.
For a home valued at $450,000, the estimated increase was about $60 per month, or $720 annually.
A number of priority maintenance needs were labeled as “district must-dos” in CAC documents.
These projects—totaling over $35 million—were the district’s highest priorities as the 2025 bond was being formed.
Some items included outdoor inclusive playgrounds, technology and transportation needs.
Stacy Parsons, an FISD business- and homeowner, said she opposed the bond due to the tax rate increase and how projects were grouped within certain propositions.
“I wasn’t for the bonds this time. The economy is truly hurting people—single moms, limited income families—and [the bond package would have] increased their monthly payment,” she said.
FISD resident Melanie Beran said she supported all four propositions and said if the bond and the recently voter-approved increase to the state’s homestead exemption had both been in effect, her home would have seen a net increase of $7.
“I think it’s a complicated math problem, and a lot of people didn’t sit down and do it,” she said.
Beran also referenced the work of CAC in the formation of the bond.
“I think people don’t recognize the year and a half that that bond committee put into it, and that they’re taxpayers, just like everybody else, but I think a slimmed-down package that is easier to understand will hopefully make a more positive impact,” she said.
Stay tuned
FISD’s board will meet at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 12 in the FISD boardroom, located at 402 Laurel Drive, Friendswood.
