Granbury ISD Bond Issue Interview with Dr Glenn

The Granbury ISD School Board has placed on the November ballot two separate propositions; a $151 million dollar bond election and a Voter Approved Tax Rate Election (VATRE). If passed, funds generated by the bond would go toward building a new elementary school, updating, and refurbishing the existing grade and middle schools, purchasing 30 new school buses, a new bus barn on the north side of town, and security improvements for all campuses. Advocates for the bond believe the new elementary school and renovations are necessary to address school overcrowding and to eliminate students from being housed in temporary buildings, as well as provide for the future as the community continues to grow. They assert the additional buses will allow for earlier start and dismissal times, as well as making student pickup and delivery more efficient.  Opponents of the bond assert that with the present economy and recent increases in accessed values of real estate, taxpayers simply cannot afford a bond issue package. They argue the state legislature has recently provided tax relief to homeowners, and the bond issue would eliminate a portion of those tax reductions unnecessarily.

Proponents of the VATRE election advocate that passage will provide an additional 8.2 million dollars in state revenue to provide pay increases to teachers and bring their salary up to the level of other districts in the area. It will also allow the district to hire additional staff to keep student/teacher ratios low.  Pay increases will diminish the transfer of teachers to other higher-paying districts and ensure a high quality, stable staff. Opponents of the VATRE do not believe a pay increase is affordable for the taxpayers. They assert a teacher pay increase is not necessary and question the financial judgment of GISD leadership.

Knowing the importance and the impact of these two elections on our community, I sat down with Superintendent of GISD, Dr. Jeremy Glen, to discuss the propositions. Because of the length of the interview, this report is limited to the bond issue. In next week’s edition, we will continue the interview with Dr. Glen focusing on the VATRE.

Publisher: Why is a new grade school needed?

Dr. Glen: We have not built a new elementary school in our community since 1996, and a lot has changed in our community since that time. This district has grown and continues to grow. More and more developers are buying up property and platting homes, which we know means more students.

 I think there are two primary reasons. One, it takes care of the overcrowding at our current facilities. We currently have students in temporary buildings at three of our elementary schools. Secondly, to make sure we are proactive to the families that are moving into the district, and we have a place for those future kids who will be attending GISD.

Publisher: If the bond issue passes, where will the new elementary school be built?

Dr. Glen: The district purchased property in the early 2000’s at the corner of Peck Road and the Old Granbury Road. The property was bought in anticipation of our district’s growth and is fully paid for. Part of the bond will go to construct the school, but a portion will also go to improve the roadways that lead to the school, putting in deceleration and acceleration lanes and building an interior loop so the school does not cause a traffic problem like we have on some of our other campuses. We want to be good stewards to the homeowners who live in that area, so we do not affect their traffic. We will be working with the city and county to make the roadways as efficient as possible.

Publisher: If passed, will some of the bond money be used for improvements for existing elementary and middle schools? What type of work needs to be done on those existing schools?

Dr. Glen: We have six schools that need life cycle replacements. We have pipelines that are so deteriorated we are having to close bathroom wings at some of the campuses. There are HVAC units which have surpassed their life expectancy and struggle to keep up with the outside heat. Then there is simple wear and tear on the buildings. When we build a school, we want it to last 50, 60, 70 years, but there does have to be an investment, like what you would do with your house. There is upkeep, and we are looking at doing those life cycle types of renovations on the other six grade school and middle school campuses. We are also looking at trying to solve some of the traffic problems at AMS and at Oakwood Elementary. This would also get kids out of portable buildings at AES, Brawner and Oakwood.

Publisher: If the bond issue is passed, you would purchase 30 new buses. Is there a problem with your current bus fleet?

Dr. Glenn: As a fleet, our school buses drive nearly 5,500 miles a day That is like driving across the United States and back every school day. We have a geographically large district. We would like to place a bus barn on the north side of town. This new bus barn would be near Lions Park on property already owned by GISD. This will allow shorter routes and get us off the road quicker, and hopefully solve some of the traffic problems in town. Right now, we must make all the elementary school pickups and drop-offs, and then do the secondary school pickup and drop-offs, which results in some crazy start times. We have elementary schools starting at 7:25 am, and secondary schools who do not get out of school until around 4:30. Driving more routes can push elementary school starts back and allow secondary students to get out of school earlier. We have gotten a lot of positive feedback from parents about the possibility of later start times for elementary schools.

Publisher: You have previously indicated that a portion of the bond would be for increased security at our school campuses. How so?

Dr. Glenn: We are looking at more cameras and more computer servers to store the data the cameras produce. Keyless entry points where people would have to use their badge to get in and out of buildings. We are also looking at newer technology, which includes metal detectors. I am not talking about metal detectors like you would see at the airport, but rather machines that are similar to anti-theft machines at a department store. They can detect metal objects, and the kids do not even know they are being scanned. In today’s world, the security of our students must be a top priority.

Publisher: I have read comments on social media where people question the way GISD has managed their finances. When was the last time a bond passed, and what is the status of that bond?

Dr. Glen: 2013 was the last time a bond was passed at GISD. It was for renovation of the administration building and the high school. Since 2005, the district has refunded or redeemed debt, saving the taxpayers over $26 million in interest payments. This would be for the bonds prior to 2013 and the 2013 bond. The district has also approved the prepayment of a little over $6 million in debt for August of 2024, saving the taxpayers an additional $938,000 in interest payments. Currently, all bonds are on pace to be paid off early.

Publisher: Does the state have a system where they evaluate how a school system is managing their finances and safeguarding the taxpayers’ dollars?

Dr. Glenn: Yes, the School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas is a rating system put in place by the state. This year the GISD received a Superior rating and a perfect score of 100. This is the 8^th consecutive year we have received such a Superior designation.

Publisher: Over the past ten years, how has the GISD tax rate changed?

Dr. Glenn: Taxes went up when voters approved the 2013 bond, but in the last 8 years the rate has declined every year. The district has nothing to do with home valuations, but the district does control the school tax rate and we maintain the lowest rate in Hood County and one of the lowest tax rates in the metroplex for schools of our size.

Publisher: How does the GISD tax rate compare to Aledo, Cleburne, Burleson, or some of our other neighbors?

Dr. Glenn: Many of the districts have a tax rate over $1.00 and some as high as $1.20. If both issues being placed on the ballot pass, our rate would be .9342, which is less than the prior year’s rate of .9996.

Publisher: The current GISD taxable rate is .9996. The legislature has taken some action which will offer tax relief to property owners and compress the rate to a lower rate. How will the bond issue effect affect this tax relief?

Dr. Glen: This is where it gets confusing for people. Because of steps taken by the legislature to offer tax relief, the school tax rate for the upcoming year will be automatically reduced (compressed). If the bond issue is not passed, taxpayers will receive the full amount of the compression. If the bond issue is approved, taxpayers will still receive tax savings of approximately .06 cents per $100 of assessed value, from what they paid this year. In short, we can pass the bond, and the tax rate from last year to this upcoming year will still decrease. It will not decrease as much as it will without the bond issue, but it will decrease. People can go to the GISD website and click on the Election 2023 tab, and then go to the GISD tax rate calculator and insert their accessed value of their property in 2022 and in 2023 and see how much their taxes would change if the bond would be approved. We want people to understand exactly what they are voting for and what it will cost.

Next week: the Voter Approved Tax Rate Election (VATRE). What are the arguments for increasing teacher salaries? What is affordable? What do other schools in our area pay? What are the potential consequences of not increasing teachers’ salaries? How will the passage or the failure of the VATRE proposition affect individual homeowner’s taxes.

Granbury ISD is asking voters to consider two issues during the November 7th election, a school bond and a tax ratification election (VATRE). This informative video explains the $151.725 million bond and its impact on our district. Learn more about the Bond at granburyisd.org/election2023