Dear Panther Parents,
Monday begins EARLY VOTING at Evans Middle School. At the bottom of my letter, you will find some Facts and Fiction about the upcoming BOND election. It is such a privilege to vote and have a voice, so please inform yourselves on how important these elections are to our MISD students. We have such an amazing community and I thank you in advance for your continued support of our students, staff, and other stakeholders.
April 22nd is our PTO Spirit Night at Chick-Fil-A from 4pm-8pm. Please come out and join us for some yummy chicken while also supporting our fabulous school. Don’t forget to mention you are from Evans.
Friendly reminder that we DO have school on April 26th. This previously was a “Bad Weather Day” but due to the infamous snow storm, we will use this day for normal instruction.
Happy Friday,
Darla
469-302-7111
McKinney ISD's News Brief :
MISD Student Technology Help Site
Early Voting begins Monday, April 19. Election Day is Saturday, May 1st.
2021 Election "FACT or FICTION"
In 2019, the Texas Legislature passed legislation requiring the ballots for all school bond elections to include a sentence that states, “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE,” even if no actual tax rate increase will occur.
FACT
McKinney ISD will be lowering the total tax rate by 3 cents, approximately $112 per year for homeowners. But, new legislation requires the ballot language to state, “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.” It’s dumb, we know.
If the Attendance Credit Election fails, McKinney ISD will lose nearly $3 billion of its property value.
FACT
The state will detach approximately $2.9 billion of MISD’s total property value in what is called detachment of territory. This property value will then be dispersed to other districts in the state.
The McKinney ISD school bond will only impact a few campuses in the district.
FICTION
The bond will renovate 10 campuses but will also fund safety and security, technology, fine arts, athletics, playgrounds and transportation throughout McKinney ISD. Every campus in the district will be impacted by the bond.
McKinney ISD has received national and state recognition for financial management and financial transparency.
FACT
The majority of the bond is going to HVAC updates at every campus, which could be paid for out of the maintenance and operations fund.
FICTION
The majority of the bond will go towards complete campus renovations at 10 campuses, which are slated for renovation as part of the district’s long-range facilities plan to ensure that campuses are well maintained for students and teachers. Schools are on a 15-year renovation cycle to ensure that they do not fall into disrepair. The renovations include energy efficient lighting, paint, flooring, heating and air conditioning updates, safety and security, lock-down buttons and cameras, technology, student desks and furniture, and more. Each campus renovation is slightly different depending upon the age of the facility and condition.
In the same way that homeowner’s borrow funds for a mortgage, school districts borrow funds to pay for major capital expenditures like renovations and new construction. Approximately 80% of school district budgets go toward salaries and benefits for teachers and support staff, so it’s not possible for districts to fund all of these projects from the maintenance and operations budget. That would be like someone saying, “Just pay all of your mortgage off at once out of your checking account.” It is important to note that McKinney ISD saves millions of dollars in interest by using 20-year bonds as opposed to 30-year bonds that most school districts use.
The Technology Bond will allow McKinney ISD to continue the 1:World laptop initiative for all students and will also help fund computers for CTE and STEM programs.
FACT
The Technology Bond will enable the district to continue the laptop initiative and provide technology to all students in McKinney ISD. McKinney ISD does not have the funds in the maintenance and operations budget to fund all technology needs and, therefore, the district would use short-term bonds (5 years) to purchase additional computers for students and campuses.
The Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) will provide additional funds to maintain smaller class sizes, help fund many district programs (GT, CTE, STEM, fine arts, athletics, etc.) and recruit and retain teachers and staff.
FACT
The Voter Approval Tax Rate Election will provide additional funding for the district’s maintenance and operations budget, which was recently limited for school districts by legislation in House Bill 3. The additional VATRE funding will be used to avoid increasing class sizes, fund district programs, and to help recruit and retain quality teachers and staff.
My tax bill has gone up because the McKinney ISD tax rate keeps going up.
FICTION
Property taxes have gone up in McKinney, Collin County, and across the state due to rising home values, not because the McKinney ISD tax rate has gone up. In fact, the McKinney ISD tax rate has continually decreased since 2013, and will continue to decrease with the four ballot items in this election.Click here to learn more.
The new elementary school is going to cost over $500 per square foot.
FICTION
This was a rumor that was completely fabricated. In fact, nobody even knows how this number was derived. The new elementary school in Trinity Falls will be approximately 105,000 square feet and will cost approximately $333 per square foot. This includes all construction costs, technology infrastructure, safety and security, architectural fees, engineering fees, geotechnical fees, utilities, furniture, fixtures, equipment and more. Schools are more expensive to build than a house because they serve hundreds of students for many decades, and include classrooms, a cafeteria, a gym, student health, safety and security, technology, playgrounds and classroom equipment for students. The new elementary in Trinity Falls will alleviate overcrowding at Press Elementary School and provide space for the significant enrollment growth in the northern sector of the district.
McKinney ISD
Communications Department
