The AISD Board of Trustees lowered the tax rate in August 2022 by 3.74 cents to $1.2296 and the rate would not be impacted by the bond costs.

Even though the AISD Board of Trustees has lowered the tax rate and expects to continue to do so, House Bill 3, which was passed by the Texas Legislature, requires any ballot propositions for school district bond elections to now include the following statement: “This is a property tax increase.” 

Homestead Exemption for those 65 and up

The school tax rate is frozen for individual homestead owners who are 65 years of age or older, and the school tax rate will not increase if a school bond is passed.

Chapter 313 Agreements 

Chapter 313 agreements help lower the school tax rate. A Chapter 313 agreement allows school districts to offer temporary limits on the taxable value of certain new investments. It offers businesses a 10-year limitation on their appraised property value for a portion (the operations side) of the school district property tax, and businesses continue to pay taxes on school bonds through the debt service rate. In exchange for the value limitation, the business agrees to build or install new property and create jobs in the school district.

Required Ballot Language

The school district has an “A” financial rating and has held an “A” rating for the past seven consecutive years since the Texas Education Agency (TEA) implemented the rating system.

TEA rates school district’s fiscal responsibility using its FIRST - Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas - to ensure that Texas public schools are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and that they improve these practices. The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to better manage their financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.

AISD formed the Citizens Advisory Committee in the late spring of 2022 to help the district with important decisions regarding the current growth of the school community and the future needs of the district.

The CAC met five times at different school district locations to review material provided by the district and a growth consultant, including results from a community survey, and to tour current facilities.

During the fourth meeting, the CAC decided to focus its attention on addressing enrollment growth and student capacity issues as opposed to addressing the age of current facilities. They helped determine what questions would be on the community survey.

The survey asked a series of questions to gauge the community’s voting habits, awareness of growth, and awareness of other factors related to a potential bond. It also gauged the community's support for potential bond projects:

• Safety & Security for $18.25 million - 88.9 percent support

• New Elementary School for $50 million - 79.3 percent support

• New Junior High School for $90 million - 76.9 percent support

• New Furniture (for grades 2-5) for $9.5 million - 77.9 percent support

• Current Elementary School Improvements for $12 million - 82.9 percent support

• Demolitions, Removals and Renovations for $9 million - 74.7 percent support
  

After reviewing the survey results, the CAC decided to recommend all the projects be included in the proposed bond, and members of the committee presented their findings and recommendations to the AISD Board of Trustees on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, for a vote to call a bond election for November 2022. The board unanimously approved the bond as presented and called for the 2022 bond election at the meeting.

View the CAC presentation here.  

The district was successful in passing a bond in 2019 and completed projects under budget. Read more about the 2019 bond here.