Waelder ISD asking voters to approve $10.3 million bond package

Early voting has ended, but polls will still be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at the Waelder City Hall for the Waelder Independent School District bond election.

The district is seeking approval from voters to issue a combined $10.3 million in bonds to make improvements to district facilities — including for safety and security — as well as to refund principal and/or interest on previously issued maintenance tax notes.

Project A — $7,100,000

Proposition A, which asks for $7.1 million, would fund new entrance vestibules at the high school, middle school and elementary, with new storefront doors and electric locks to improve safety. Windows would be replaced with panels in keeping with the “storefront” approach and fire and sprinkler sysmtes would be installed along with updated fire alarms.

A new six-room fifth and sixth grade classroom would be constructed from the ground up, while the original and presently unused gymnasium would be converted into a cafeteria and auditorium, including a stage for theater arts performances, graduation ceremonies, concerts and other activities. This would also improve food service and seating capacity for students during lunch as cafeteria space would grow from 3,445 square-feet to more than 9,600 square feet.

The three school buildings would have carpeting replaced with new flooring while new LED lighting would be installed as well as exhaust fans in the bathrooms and fresh paint applied to building interiors and exteriors. ADA upgrades and interior door locks would be changed as required with repairs made to wall coverings and tiles.

The Life Skills building would see its exterior painted and broken skirting repaired in addition to the replacement of a window AC unit with a three-ton Bard unit. There would be flooring upgrades in the restrooms and the roof leak would be repaired.

The existing covered outdoor gym would be enclosed to create a second indoor gymnasium, allowing all grade levels to have indoor gym classes.

Finally, the former cafeteria would be converted to a new district administration office, with a room added to host school board meetings and staff trainings. A new entrance would be created that would face out to the street like the other three classroom buildings do.

A $7.1 million bond issuance would also require interest payments totaling $4,882,800, bringing the total estimated combined principal and interest for Proposition A to a grand total of $11,982,800, assuming bonds are amortized for a period of 25 years with an interest rate of 4 percent.

Proposition B — $3,200,000

Proposition B, which asks for $3.2 million, would allow Waelder ISD to refund all or a portion of the Series 2022 WISD Maintenance Tax Notes that were issued previously. The district currently has outstanding tax debt of $2,575,000 and estimated remaining interest of $772,381, for an estimated total combined debt of $3,347,381.

A $3.2 million bond issuance would also require interest payments totaling $2,215,200, bringing the total estimated combined principal and interest for Proposition B to a grand total of $5,415,200, assuming bonds are amortized for a period of 25 years with an interest rate of 4 percent.

What residents will pay

According to the district’s bond counsel, if voters approve Proposition A, it will add an estimated $0.1554 to the tax rate, while Proposition B would add an estimated $0.0736. If both propositions are approved, the combined tax rate would be an estimated $0.2287 (the estimated debt service structure changes slightly when the two propositions are combined, creating a potentially smaller tax rate increase than the sum of the two separate issues).

Again, the bond assume an interest rate of approximately 4 percent and the district has included a taxable value increase of 2.50 percent annually for the next 10 years, although the historical 10-year average has been 6.2 percent. If values increase more than the projected 2.5 percent, those tax rate increases could be less than expected.

In 2022, the average home in Waelder ISD had an average market value of $105,035 and an average taxable value, after homestead and other exemptions, of $56,538. Taxes on the average residence in Waelder ISD in 2022 were $525.18, based on a tax rate of $0.9289 per $100 valuation, which included a maintenance and operations (M&O) rate of $0.8546 per $100 valuation and a debt service rate of $0.0743.

If voters approve both bond issues for the total $10.3 million, the new debt service tax rate for 2023 would be about $0.303 per $100 valuation. That would mean the taxes imposed on a homestead residence of average taxable value would increase by about $129.30, or nearly $10.78 per month.

However, property owners who do not have a homestead exemption could see much higher tax increases, depending on their property’s value. For example, a piece of property in the Waelder ISD worth $500,000 without a homestead exemption could see taxes increase by $1,515 or about $126.25 per month.