Adam Zuvanich/Houston Public Media
Pictured is a sign outside the headquarters for Cy-Fair ISD on Sept. 10, 2024, in Cypress, Texas.
Cy-Fair ISD residents will have the chance to vote in November on a proposed $1.6 billion bond package and a property tax rate increase by the Houston-area school district.
The Cy-Fair ISD school board approved the addition of both items — which will appear on the November ballot as five propositions — during its meeting Monday night. If approved by voters, the proposed bond would be used for a variety of improvements to the district, including infrastructure, safety, technology, athletics and swimming pools, according to the district.
The proposed tax rate increase — which is separate from the bond — would adopt a new overall property tax rate of $1.1569 per $100 of assessed taxable value, an increase of 9 cents compared to the current rate. If approved by voters, the new rate would increase the district’s tax revenue by an estimated 23% for an additional $102,350,532.
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Additional revenue from the property tax increase would pay for staff and teacher compensation, campus safety personnel, student transportation, instructional materials, athletics, fine arts and career and technical education, according to Cy-Fair ISD.
Putting both the tax rate increase and the bond on the ballot were approved in separate 6-1 votes. Trustee Christine Kalmbach was the lone dissenting vote on each item.
“I know that the district has needs and I want to support that,” Kalmbach said before the vote on the bond measure. “My issue is the amount. It really is. It’s just a real struggle. With the tax increase and the bond … this is going to be a struggle for some people. Some people don’t have a financial planner and a portfolio. They literally live paycheck to paycheck.”
The votes were among the first big decisions by a board that was reconfigured last year, when Kendra Camarena, Lesley Guilmart and Cleveland Lane Jr. won their elections to break a politically conservative majority on the board for Texas’ third-largest district. Among the losing candidates were school board president Scott Henry and vice president Natalie Blasingame, who helped the board assert more ideological control over library books and textbook content and restrict campus discussions about gender identity.
Speaking during the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, resident and vice president of Cypress Families for Public Schools, Bryan Henry, told the board he supported increasing taxes to improve education.
“If you’re asking me as a voter to say yes to a bond and an increased property tax rate, I don’t just say yes, I say hell yes,” he said. “If this community can come together to solve our budgetary problems ourselves, let’s do it. You get what you pay for; I want the best for my kids, I’m willing to pay for it, so tax me.”
Bond package
When residents in the district vote on the bond in November, it will be split into four different propositions, according to the district. Each proposition funds a different initiative, allowing voters to choose which they support and which they don’t.
The propositions are as follows, according to the district:
Proposition B is for $1,299,520,000 to improve “critical infrastructure, safety and security, technology infrastructure and transportation.”
Proposition C is for $256,075,000 for “instructional technology.”
Proposition D is for $60,800,000 for “artificial turf replacement, scoreboards and other life-cycle replacements for existing athletic facilities.”
Proposition E is for $20,125,000 and would be used for pool improvements including “replastering, pool pumps and other life-cycle replacements for existing swimming pools.”
Both the proposed tax rate increase (Proposition A) and the four propositions that make up the bond proposal will be on the ballot for the Nov. 3 election.
Additional details on both the tax rate increase and the bond proposal can be found on the district’s website.