A bond is similar to a home mortgage. It is a contract to repay borrowed money with interest over time. Bonds are sold by a school district to competing lenders to raise funds to pay for the costs of construction, renovations and equipment. Most school districts in Texas utilize bonds to finance renovations and new facilities.

Bond funds can be used to pay for new buildings, additions and renovations to existing facilities, land acquisition, technology infrastructure and equipment for new or existing buildings. Bonds cannot be used for salaries or operating costs such as utility bills, supplies, building maintenance, fuel and insurance.

School districts are required by state law to ask voters for permission to sell bonds to investors in order to raise the capital dollars required for projects such as building a new school. Essentially, the voters are giving permission for the district to take out a loan and pay that loan back over an extended period of time, much like a family takes out a mortgage loan for their home. A school board calls a bond election so voters can decide whether or not they want to pay for proposed projects.

The 2022 bond proposal asks voters to consider giving AISD authorization to issue bonds to fund new schools for growth, address projects at existing schools, add a stadium to Argyle High School in Canyon Falls and add an Indoor Activity Center to Argyle High School in Canyon Falls.

Development of the bond proposal was an in-depth process of information gathering, research and community input. The Board of Trustees and administration have been working with demographers for years to study growth trends and consider the district's needs before convening the Bond & Growth Planning Committee (BGPC) to seek input from the community. The BGPC met seven times and toured all district facilities before making a recommendation to the Board of Trustees.

During their meetings, the BGPC studied growth trends, enrollment projections, financial data, facility needs, and results of a community survey. Following the committee’s recommendation, the Board voted unanimously to call for a May 2022 bond election.

Click here to view the survey.

In accordance with a new state law, athletic stadiums and other recreational facilities (the Indoor Activity Center) must be presented to voters as separate propositions. This gives voters an opportunity to vote for or against the three separate proposals. 

The overall tax rate will be lower next year, even if the bond passes. The M&O tax rate, with the compression by the state, is scheduled to drop from $0.915 to $0.8976. The Interest & Sinking (I&S) rate will increase to $0.500 if the bond passes. Due to the M&O rate compression, the overall tax rate impact to homeowners would be a decrease of $0.0024 if the bond passes.

The Argyle ISD bond election ballot will include language that will state "this is a property tax increase." School bond propositions are required by state law to include this terminology.

However, the Argyle ISD bond does not include an overall tax rate increase if the bond passes due to the Maintenance & Operations tax rate compression which offsets the Interest & Sinking tax rate increase.

No. If you have applied for and received the age 65 and older exemption on your homestead, by law, your school taxes cannot be raised above their frozen level.

For the district’s long-term high school plan, Argyle ISD will engage the community in discussions and the decision-making process about the long-term high school plan and grade configuration. (The Bond & Growth Planning Committee and fall 2021 survey were the first steps in this process.)

At this time, Argyle High School in Canyon Falls will serve students in grades 9-12 for the next few years. Growth projections show that Argyle High School could have nearly 2,000 students in the 2025-2026 school year, which is over the school’s functional capacity of 1,750.

Argyle ISD plans to utilize the Highyway 377 campus (currently Argyle Middle School) once again to serve high school students. The exact grade configuration at that time has not been determined but will be communicated to families as soon as the decision is made, which will follow an in-depth study and community engagement opportunities. (For example, the 377 campus could house 9th-grade students or 9th and 10th grade. Those specifics have not yet been determined.)

There is nothing proposed in this bond for additional classroom seats at the high school level. 

Yes. Voters should record their vote in each of the three propositions on the ballot.

The last Argyle ISD bond was in 2017. The $166 million bond included Argyle High School Phase II, West Elementary, South Elementary and new administration building. The bond passed by 51 percent. Three years earlier, the 2014 bond passed with 60 percent of the votes.

The Indoor Activity Center would be utilized by the football, soccer, baseball and softball teams when weather prohibits outdoor practice. During inclement weather, the band would also use the indoor facility. Argyle youth sports organizations utilize the indoor facility for practices during weekday evenings. Currently, the AHS teams and band must travel to Argyle Middle School to utilize the indoor to practice.

The following represents the most up-to-date information:

• Elementary School #4: Land would need to be purchased or donated for this campus. Argyle ISD is currently in negotiations for a new elementary school site in the northwest portion of the district. 
• Elementary School #5: Land would need to be purchased or donated for this campus.
• New Middle School #1 (Argyle Middle School): The new Argyle Middle School would be constructed on the 23-acre site in Harvest that has been donated to the district.

The current projections by the district's demographer includes minimal enrollment impact from Flower Mound Ranch starting in the 2027-2028 school year.

The district would evaluate elementary capacity and the potential need for portable classrooms. The district would also seek community feedback regarding the reasons for the failure of the bond and consider possible future bond elections.

Two of the comparable stadiums to the one in Proposition B are Aledo High School's Bearcat Stadium and Chisholm Trail High School's Ranger Stadium. The stadium proposed at Argyle High School does not include the cost of field, track or field house - those are currently in place and opened this year as part of Phase II construction from the 2017 bond. 

The design fee was included by the Bond & Growth Planning Committee to assist in accelerating the potential construction of Middle School #2. A future bond would be required that would include the construction of Middle School #2.

The stadium in the bond proposal includes 9,000 spectator seats. The stadium would be built on the existing site behind Argyle High School in Canyon Falls. The field, field house and track have already been constructed as part of the last phase built at AHS. The field frequently called the "practice field" behind AHS, would be the turf game field for the new stadium. Additional parking would be added around the stadium. Eagle Stadium currently holds 3,200.

Yes. The amount for Proposition B (stadium at Argyle High School) includes a video scoreboard. It also includes spectator seats, concessions, restrooms and a press box. The artificial turf field, track and fieldhouse were part of Phase 2 and have been completed. The stadium would be similar to the ones at Chisholm Trail High School and Aledo High School.

Yes. The stadium proposal would include an additional 1,100 parking spaces.

If approved by voters, all Texas homeowners who have the homestead exemption would receive tax relief because the state would increase the homestead exemption for school district property taxes from $25,000 to $40,000. The amount of taxes you owe would be calculated at an amount that is $40,000 below your home’s appraised value.