District prepares for Nov. 4 bond issue
As the Taylor Independent School District gets ready to float a $147 million bond issue, trustees learned the system earned an A for financial integrity and a clean bill of health from an efficiency audit report.
During Monday’s school board meeting, Justin Barlow of the educational consultant firm MoakCasey presented the report, which he said was necessary before the referendum goes on the Nov. 4 ballot.
“The purpose of the efficiency audit is to provide information to voters regarding the school district’s fiscal management, efficiency and utilization of resources,” Barlow said.
The bond and schoolfunding election (or Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election), also known as Proposition A and Proposition B, are designed for facilities improvement and construction, and classroom operations and programs, respectively.
The audit compared Taylor ISD to other comparable school districts in the state and overall national rankings and covered Texas Education Agency ratings, administrative and staff salaries and managing funds.
In a related matter, Aaron Mullins of Project Control for Rice & Gardner Consultants Inc. provided an overview of the 2022 bond including completed work and a final budget update.
While Mullins noted it will take months to reconcile the final budget, he shared some good news about projected savings.
Mullins told trustees more than $7.5 million remained in the bond budget, with about $4.5 million earned from interest and over $3 million in savings.
“We made sure that our projects remained in budget and that we were staying within the scope that we promised to the taxpayers,” Mullins said.
The district also received safety grants and other funding applied to the cost of the bond initiatives.
“We utilized those as much as we could before dipped into the bond money,” Mullins said.
Trustees thanked Mullins, with Superintendent Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen noting a successful bond issue requires much work.
“Our kids have so many more opportunities (because of the 2022 bond) …We have reached a very successful milestone that will have benefits for decades and decades to come,” Garcia-Edwardsen said.
Officials said the proposed new VATRE will lower school tax rates and provide more operational funding for the district, while the bond will fund more construction and renovation, as well as land purchases and new buses.
In addition, Prop A includes funding for a multi-purpose facility, renovations to Taylor Middle School, new science, technology, engineering and mathematics spaces; and more safety and security systems, Proposition B, which supports classroom instruction and staffing, could help retain teachers and keep class sizes smaller, officials said.
The referendum is 4 cents lower than last year’s tax rate, supporters said.
The current rate for the 2025-26 school year, adopted in August, is $1.0638 per $100 of taxable valuation, records show.
As the 2022 bond wraps up, some in the community have complained about another referendum, but Garcia-Edwardsen countered the proposed new measures address both long-term facility needs and the resources required to sustain high-quality classroom instruction.
“It’s a balanced approach to meeting growth projections and program requirements while still lowering the tax rate,” Garcia-Edwardsen said.
Information regarding the bond is available at taylorisdvote. org.
The next school board meeting is 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20 in the Taylor ISD boardroom at 3101 N. Main St.
Voters must register by Oct. 6. Early voting is Oct. 20-31.
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“It’s a balanced approach to meeting growth projections and program requirements while still lowering the tax rate.”
— Superintendent Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen
