What is the 2025 Lubbock ISD bond on the May election ballot? Here's what you need to know
Lubbock residents living inside the Lubbock Independent School District boundaries will see a single proposition on the ballot in May — a $290 million school bond package.
The requests come before voters after LISD Trustees agreed to send the bond to voters, which includes several key ticket items including building three new schools for six schools being consolidated next school year.
Original Reporting: Lubbock ISD sends $290 million bond to voters in May 2025 election. Here's what to know
With questions about how the bond came about, what it entails and if it will impact your tax rates, here's what you need to know before heading to the polls on May 3, 2025 or when early voting starts April 22.
LISD Superintendent Kathy Rollo said the projects the bonds would fund come from a facilities assessment the district did, which found over $400 million worth of needs across the district
"We also have over 6,000 empty seats in our elementary and middle schools," Rollo said. "We have a declining birth rate in Lubbock ISD, and then 63% of our facilities are over 60 years old."
After identifying these key hurdles and issues facing the district, LISD formed a committee comprised of students, teachers and citizens to help narrow down projects and decide which ones need to be prioritized.
The committee formalized its recommendations to LISD's Board of Trustees, who unanimously agreed to send the identified recommendations to the public to vote on.
Here is a breakdown of what the LISD bond will fund and how much is going to each initiative.
Efficiancy: $151 million.
Construction of three new elementary schools (Bean-Hodges, McWhorter-Wolffarth and Williams-Stewart elementaries).
Kitchen/cafeteria addition at Rush elementary.
Science lab addition at Atkins Middle School.
Capital Renewal and infrastructure: $75 million.
Update roofing, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, locker room renovations, high-priority kitchen updates, parking, paving and drainage improvements at 32 campuses.
Academic programming: $47 million.
Middle school auditorium and fine arts renovations.
Atkins Middle School science lab renovations.
Expansion in the Culinary Arts, Health Professions and Advanced Welding programs at the Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center.
Safety and security: .
Update Security film, door replacements, access control servers, fire alarms, security cameras and fencing improvements at 30 campuses.
The short answer is no - at least not the tax rate.
Rollo said voters approved the current tax rate of 17.5 cents per $100. Since LISD paid down debt from the 2018 bond, the district is able to take on more debt without raising the tax rate.
However, Prop A will include the phrase "THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE" on the ballot.
"That came out of the 2019 legislation that that language had to be on there," Rollo said. "The state says that is because anything above (our) M&O — which is set by the state — is a property tax increase."
For context, the state set M&O (Maintenance and Operations) tax rate helps fund school districts' general operating budgets. The 17.5 cent tax is the I&S (interests and sinking) tax rate that LISD can levy to fund debt services.
Rollo stressed again that the 17.5 cent tax rate will not change with this bond, but that language is required on the ballot.
Dig Deeper: Lubbock ISD trustees blame state, funding issues for school closures
No.
LISD's general operating fund is funded by the M&O tax rate set by state lawmakers. Rollo said this is where teachers' pay comes from, along with helping the district pay for day-to-day operational expenses. According to LISD, money from the M&O tax rate cannot be used for long-term capital projects.
It is through the I&S tax rate that school districts are able to fund capital projects.
"For the most part, (I&S) can only be used for brick and mortar types of things," Rollo said. "We don't have enough money in our maintenance and operations to fund those kinds of projects."
Rollo also said I&S can not be used for district operational expenses or teachers' salaries.
"Whatever happens with the legislature doesn't impact this," Rollo said.
With six elementary schools set to consolidate into three schools next year, Rollo said the current infrastructure cannot handle that kind of influx long-term. New schools would allow the district to avoid certain costs associated with maintaining six separate schools.
Rollo pointed to the district's new Carmona-Harrison Elementary — which combined Jackson, Guadalupe, and Wright elementary schools — as a proven track record of this, having saved the district $1.8 million in the first year it opened.
However, the benefits of consolidating the school are far beyond just saving the district money.
"When you have five teachers per grade level, you have more people to collaborate with, to plan with, to share those extracurricular duties as assigned," Rollo said. "You have more wraparound services for kids."
Rollo said those services include additional Title 1 resources, a full-time counselor and assistant principal — which are often shared between smaller schools — and additional educational support staff for students.
Rollo said students and staff will have to continue using the existing buildings, with the district having to spend more on them for maintenance and operations.
"That limits our ability to provide raises," Rollo said. "It limits our ability to provide the programming that we offer, we're gonna have to make some hard decisions — we're doing that anyway, but it's it's gonna make that even more challenging."
Election day is on Saturday, May 3, 2025 with early voting beginning on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 through Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
Visit www.votelubbock.org to see where polling locations are.
Mateo Rosiles is the Government & Public Policy reporter for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: $290 million Lubbock ISD school bond package on May election ballot
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