Frisco ISD voters rejected more than $1 billion in school bonds Tuesday as the district looks to make campus upgrades and purchase new equipment.

The largest bond in the package was $986 million Proposition B, which would have gone toward new buses, safety and security improvements and renovations to 20 aging schools. After years of rapid expansion, the district has experienced a slowdown in growth in recent years.

Prop B failed with 52 percent of voters against it, according to unofficial results. It was one of three bond proposals in a package totaling nearly $1.1 billion. Voters rejected all items.

The district’s Proposition C, for $88 million, would have funded new computers and upgraded online infrastructure. More than 52% of voters rejected it.

Prop D failed with 73.1% of voters against it. It would pay for a new $11.2 million tennis center.

Proposition A was a voter-approved tax rate choice, or VATRE. It would have helped cover some of Frisco ISD’s $30 million budget shortfall, which the district took on in part to provide raises for teachers. VATRE would have raised the maintenance and operations tax rate to 2.94 cents per $100 in property assessment, increasing the tax bill for the average home in the Frisco ISD by $158 a year.

Proposition A failed with 57.5% of voters against it.

The last time Frisco issued bonds was in 2018, when voters approved a more than $690 million package for four new schools and repairs to other facilities.

Frisco was among several North Texas districts that filed bond packages for this election.

In Allen ISD, voters approved two bond proposals but rejected a third of the district’s $447.4 million bond package.

Proposal A at $419 million was the largest of the three proposals. It passed with 56.1% of the vote, according to unofficial results.

It will fund improvements to aging buildings, pay for a multipurpose facility, add new buses, improve internet and Wi-Fi throughout the district and fund campus security improvements.

Proposition C, at $23.1 million, also passed with 53.4 percent of the vote. It allows for the purchase, replacement and upgrade of technology such as individual computers.

Proposition B, for $5.4 million in athletic track repairs, failed with a 51.8 percent vote against.

East of Dallas, voters in the ever-growing Sunnyvale ISD approved three bond proposals totaling $94.9 million.

The bonds will pay for building upgrades and repairs, parking and traffic control, and safety and security items. The district also received money to build a new activity center and pay for storm and rail repairs. Each of the three proposals was approved with more than 65 percent of the vote, according to unofficial totals.

In Highland Park, 68.3 percent of voters approved a bond package valued at $137 million. It will fund new buses, new construction, land purchases, building renovations and improvements, and school safety and security equipment.

Birdville ISD voters, meanwhile, rejected a $48 million bond to pay for the school district’s multi-purpose practice fields. The proposal failed with 62.7% of voters against it.

Grapevine-Colleyville and Celina ISDs approved voter-approved tax rates to help offset growing deficits and expenses while the districts still await new legislative funding, unchanged from 2019.

Voters in Northwest and Coppell ISD rejected their districts’ VATRE.

Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Do you have a tip? Email Bill at [email protected]. You can follow X @bzeeble.

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