Last month, the Belton Independent School District (BISD) ordered an election to be held on November 4th, 2025, at which time area voters will decide on 4 separate bond propositions. According to the district’s bond promotion website, here are the measures that will be considered:
- Proposition A proposes a $92,925,000 bond issuance for the purpose of constructing, renovating, and equipping school facilities, including the provision of security cameras, playground fencing, exterior lighting, HVAC, roofing, and updates to Sparta and Lakewood elementary schools as well as DAEP and Belton middle school.
- Proposition B proposes a $43,725,000 bond issuance for the purpose of constructing, renovating, and equipping Tiger Field and Bronco Field.
- Proposition C proposes a $6,000,000 bond issuance for the purpose of acquiring and updating technology, including staff and student devices.
- Proposition D proposes a $19,185,000 bond issuance for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, and equipping the district’s natatorium, including additional pool space and updates to current locker rooms.
While these informational summaries are helpful in some regard, the language is also incomplete as the prompts lack the full cost for each proposal. That is, the descriptions do not contain the estimated principal and interest amount(s) that are required to pay the proposed debt(s) in full.
Voters can learn these details, but to do so, they’ll need to examine each proposition’s Voter Information Document (VID), which provide important details about the proposed issuance, existing debt, tax impact, and more. Hence, based on each proposition’s VID, stakeholders may come to understand that the actual cost BISD’s bond package is as follows:
- Proposition A: The proposed principal debt is $92,925,000; the estimated interest costs are $110,330,457; and the total repayment is $203,255,457.
- Proposition B: The proposed principal debt is $43,725,000; the estimated interest costs are $51,923,419; and the total repayment is $95,648,419.
- Proposition C: The proposed principal debt is $6,00,000; the estimated interest costs are $820,313; and the total repayment is $6,820,313.
- Proposition D: The proposed principal debt is $19,185,000; the estimated interest costs are $22,774,631; and the total repayment is $41,959,631.
Final thoughts
In the final analysis, BISD’s $161,835,000 bond package will ultimately cost $347,683,820, if and when all measures are approved and paid back in full. Thus, when interest payments are accounted for, the purported cost of the district’s $161.8 million bond package effectively doubles.
In this instance as well as all others, it is important for voters to have a complete understanding of proposed debt measures, especially in terms of what the actual costs are. This type of information is critical a voter to know so that he/she can make prudent decisions and invest wisely.
Fortunately, thanks to the VID concept, BISD voters—and every Texas taxpayer—have a tool available to do just that.
