Voters within Midway ISD on Tuesday approved a $83.5 million bond package focused on improving existing campuses.
Midway ISD Superintendent Chris Allen told KWBU in October the bond would be used for deferred maintenance across Midway campuses.
"There are times when major components of a school district - so think about HVAC systems - they just reach end of life," he said.
That maintenance, Allen said, is often too expensive to come from the district's daily operation budget, which is largely state funded and has not kept up with rising costs. The state legislature did pass a massive education funding bill in this year’s legislative session, but that money had specific uses like teacher raises and security improvements.
"We don’t have the budget, really, to keep up with our basic day in and day out expenses, much less take on the cost of components that are beginning to degrade," Allen said.
With the bond measure approved, the district’s tax rate will remain flat at 93.69 cents per $100 valuation.
Across the lake, China Spring ISD asked its voters to approve a Voter Approval Tax Rate which would generate $2.16 million in revenue for the district annually.
Voter's approved that measure by a slim margin Tuesday.
Since a failed VATRE in 2022, The district has been operating in a deficit, using savings to balance the budgets.
"We’re to the point that we have no savings funds left to be able to use to make up those deficit budgets," said Superintendent Marc Faulkner.
Faulkner pointed to inflation and limits in state school funding as key reasons for the shortfall.
Of the $2 million in new revenue, more than half of the new revenue comes from state money only available to school districts who pass a VATRE. That revenue will help fund the current budget. Any additional money will go towards fulfilling community requests.
"Our community told us they want us to recruit and retain high-quality teachers, maintain manageable class sizes, and continue to support programs that make our schools great," Faulkner told KWBU in August. "That’s where these funds will go."
With the VATRE approved, taxpayers in China Spring ISD will face a tax rate of 98.2 cents per $100 valuation, down from last year’s $1.02 per $100.
China Spring ISD is one of the last Waco area school districts to approve a VATRE.
Also approved Tuesday was a state constitutional amendment giving Texas State Technical College a $850 million endowment.
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