McKinney ISD voters will decide five school propositions on the Nov. 3 ballot, a $500 million bond package split four ways plus a separate question asking them to ratify the district's tax rate. Early voting runs Oct. 19-30.
What each proposition covers
- Proposition A would ratify a total tax rate of $1.0664 per $100 of taxable value, the rate trustees set in August. The district lists teacher salaries and classroom programs as its uses, and The Dallas Morning News reported it would bring in a little more than $4 million a year.
- Proposition B, $430.95 million, is the largest piece. It would pay for two new elementary schools, renovations, safety and security work, buses and other vehicles, fine arts, and a career and technical education center the district wants to build with Collin College.
- Proposition C, $62 million, would replace aging student devices and network equipment.
- Proposition D, $4.5 million, would repair the training pool at McKinney High School.
- Proposition E, $2.55 million, would replace the turf at McKinney ISD Stadium and resurface the track at Ron Poe Stadium.
The district's case
On its election website, the district says trustees cut the total rate by nearly four cents in August and that all five measures can be paid for within that lower rate. District officials estimate the August cut saves $302 a year on a home at the district's median value of $368,000, according to the News.
Superintendent Shawn Pratt wrote that the district trimmed staff and its budget by $15 million two years ago and repurposed three campuses, saving at least $3 million a year. The district says a $6 million deficit remains after those cuts.
The new elementary schools are aimed at the north side of the district. The district says Frazier, Press and Webb elementary schools are at or over capacity because of home building in the northwest and northeast, even as elementary enrollment in the south has dropped.
