Conroe ISD voters will head to the polls later this month to decide the fate of the district’s largest-ever bond referendum.
If approved, the bond will fund eight new schools, building renovations, more buses and new technology.
Early voting for the Nov. 7 election kicks off Oct. 23.
Here is what to know about the bond.
Why is a bond election needed in Conroe ISD?
Growth is the driving factor for the bond, said Conroe ISD Superintendent Curtis Null.
The last time CISD proposed a bond was in 2019. The first proposal put on the May ballot that year was for $807 million and it failed. The district tried again in November 2019 and voters approved two bond propositions totaling $677.37 million.
“We are getting big in Conroe ISD,” Null said.
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Currently, Conroe ISD is the 9th largest school district in Texas but Null said that will change.
“We will move up and become the 7th largest school district either this year or next,” Null said. “The two districts Conroe will pass are Fort Worth ISD and Austin ISD.”
Conroe ISD has more than 73,000 students with over 9,000 employees at 70 campuses.
Null said the district will have more than 100,000 students within nine years.
“We will bring in 24 portable buildings to Conroe High School next year to accommodate the capacity there,” Null said.
The bond would provide needed capacity in the Conroe area where the district is seeing its strongest growth.
How will the bond affect the tax rate?
Conroe ISD has historically had a low tax rate compared to peer districts, including Klein ISD, Cy-Fair ISD and Fort Bend ISD. In Montgomery County, Conroe ISD’s rate is lower than New Caney, Splendora, Montgomery, Willis and Magnolia ISD.
For 2024, the board of trustees lowered the rate from $1.11 per $100 in property value to 96.21 cents per $100.
However, approval of the bond could mean a 2 cent raise in the district’s tax rate.
Proposition A is the largest on the ballot at $1.8 billion. That proposition includes the largest expenditures for new schools and major renovations. Null said that proposition alone will cause the tax increase.
If voters only approve propositions B, C and D, there would not be a tax rate increase, Null said.
“That was done by design,” Null said. “The bond committee wanted to give the voters a choice.”
What’s in the bond?
Proposition A is the largest, earmarking $1.8 billion for eight new schools, three additions to schools, five major renovations, improvements to buildings, safety measures, land purchases, new technology, new buses and expansion of the transportation center.
Conroe would see the biggest impact if the bond is approved, with the largest item being a new high school in Conroe, Null said. The bond would also add a new junior high and intermediate school to the Conroe area.
McCullough Junior High, Hailey and Ford elementaries would see additions to the schools, with major renovations at The Woodlands High School, Oak Ridge High School 9th Grade campus, Knox Junior High and Creighton and San Jacinto elementaries.
The bond will also fund master plans for Oak Ridge High School and Washington High School.
Proposition B
Proposition B allocates $40 million to technology and devices including iPads, laptop and desktop computers.
“The reason that is in a separate proposition is because the law says it has to be,” Null said.
Proposition C
Proposition C would provide $112.9 million for a third ag barn and 16 PE classrooms and elementary school gyms.
Null said the district currently has two agriculture barns where students can house their animals for the district’s Future Farmers of America programs. The Otwell barn in Oak Ridge North serves Oak Ridge and Grand Oaks high schools. The Budde facility in south Montgomery County serves The Woodlands and College Park high schools.
“There is no more capacity so we would like to add on to give more children the opportunity to be a part of that program,” Null said. “We currently do not have a facility for Conroe and Caney Creek so those students do not have the option to house animals.”
The package would build the third barn and renovate the district’s existing barns, Null said. The new barn would be located near the Montgomery County Fair Grounds and would include 30 cattle stalls, 75 pig stalls, 40 sheep and goat stalls, a wash area, an equipment room and a work room.
Proposition D
Proposition D would earmark $22.9 million for a new pool and renovations to the district’s natatorium near Woodforest Stadium.
“Many districts have a pool at every high school,” Null said. “We are out of water space. We are at a point we cannot accommodate any more swimmers at our pool.”
