Irving ISD Asks for $952 Million, Including a New Irving High School
Four propositions would replace five aging campuses and add indoor facilities that voters rejected in 2023. The district projects a 12.5-cent increase in its debt tax rate if all pass.
Irving ISD is asking voters to approve $952 million in school bonds, including $300 million to replace Irving High School. The district says plainly that its debt tax rate would go up if all four propositions pass.
Early voting runs through Oct. 30, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Every proposition carries the words "THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE," according to the notice of election.
The four propositions
Proposition A, $552,173,783: new Lively, T. Haley and J.O. Davis elementary schools, a new Travis Middle School, safety and security equipment, and district-wide improvements.
Proposition B, $300,000,000: a new Irving High School.
Proposition C, $40,000,000: technology updates and cybersecurity.
Proposition D, $60,162,278: indoor multipurpose facilities at Irving, MacArthur and Nimitz high schools.
The district bond site lists Irving High School's date as 1959. It says the campuses proposed for replacement average 68 years old.
What it would cost
If voters approve all four propositions, the district projects a tax rate impact of 12.5 cents per $100 of taxable value. For a $340,000 home with the $140,000 state homestead exemption, the district says that works out to $20.83 a month. It also notes that homeowners 65 and older or disabled who apply for that exemption have their school taxes frozen at the amount paid in the first year.
The state-required voter information documents give fuller numbers. They project the debt service tax rate rising from $0.2899 to $0.4149 per $100 if all four pass. Estimated interest is about $752.3 million on Proposition A, $408.8 million on B, $54.5 million on C and $82 million on D. Interest across the four comes to more than $1.29 billion, on top of the $952 million borrowed. That is my sum of the district's figures. The documents assume 30-year repayment for each series, interest rates of 5.31% to 6.05%, and about 3% annual growth in taxable value for five years.
The district already owes $704.8 million in principal, plus an estimated $373.6 million in remaining interest, as of the date the election order was approved.
Irving City Hall, 2019. Photo: Michael Barera / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The district's case
On its FAQ page, the district says a 2022 facilities audit found about $165 million in deferred maintenance across the five campuses proposed for replacement. It says that figure is not a full renovation estimate. Replacing Irving High is estimated at $300 million, compared with $183.6 million to renovate it. Lively Elementary would cost $53 million to renovate and $70 million to replace. The district says the renovation estimates do not include possible classroom additions. It also says renovating an old building can turn up problems that change the cost.
The FAQ says that if the bond fails, the repairs would still have to be handled in 2027 or 2028. The district would either pull money from its operating budget, which it says would mean cuts to programs, salaries and services, or call another election as early as May 2027.
The questions voters are asking
The district raises two hard questions itself. Proposition D's indoor facilities failed in 2023. The FAQ says a new committee reviewed them independently and recommended them again for JROTC, band, athletics, STEM and other programs, and for shelter from extreme heat under UIL's 2023 heat safety guidelines.
The second question is enrollment. The FAQ says two campuses were closed in 2024 because enrollment fell, and that enrollment is still declining. It says the bond would serve about 28,000 students. A Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee of more than 80 residents, staff and students is meeting this month to study the new numbers and recommend how to respond.
Voters can fairly ask why a shrinking district should build new schools now. The district can fairly answer that old buildings with failing systems don't fix themselves. Each proposition is a separate vote, and Proposition D has already been turned down once.
The bond scope page breaks down the estimated tax impact by proposition. Proposition A is about 7.2 cents, B about 3.9 cents, C about half a cent and D about eight-tenths of a cent.
Related on Dock Line: Keller ISD Asks Voters for $828 Million in Five Bond Propositions; Early Voting Starts Monday. Here Is What Is on Every Texas Ballot.
