Frequently Asked Questions

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. All 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 renovation to existing buildings or 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. 

The Board of Trustees called a bond election in the amount of $777 million with no tax rate increase.

A Long-Range Planning Committee was established to utilize the district’s long-range plans, bond capacity, facilities’ studies, and other relevant information to develop a plan of action. The Committee represented a broad cross-section of the community, including parents, business leaders, teachers, community members, students, and civic leaders.

The committee met five times from October 2023 to January 2024. Upon completion of the Committee’s analysis, a recommendation was presented to the Board of Trustees on January 23, 2024.

The major projects from our 2017 bond included construction of five new schools, additions at two middle schools, and various improvements across the district.

Click here to visit the 2017 Bond Recap website.

With voter approval on the bond in May, we plan to start as many projects as we can, as quickly as possible.

A few things to keep in mind about bond funding and schedules:

• First, we do not issue the full $777 million all at one time. Bonds will be issued in smaller series over the course of several years. This allows us to not incur debt before we need it.

• The priority projects would be those that would replace failing systems or equipment that is already past its useful life.

• Some items like buses, technology equipment, and air-conditioning units can be purchased almost immediately after the bond election.

• Other projects require time for design and approvals. For example, construction of the new Safety Operations Center could not begin right away because it will take time to design the facility and go through permitting and approvals.

• There are some projects -- like Phase 2 of the Multipurpose Athletic Centers and the master plan for RL Anderson Stadium -- that could begin sooner because some of the design work has already been done.

Our goal would be to have all projects underway within the next five years.

Staff is always a priority, so in 2021, Mansfield ISD held a VATRE that was designed to retain quality staff and maintain quality instruction, student programs, and choice. This election, which was approved by MISD voters, moved funds from the debt service tax rate into the general operations budget from which teachers and paraprofessionals are paid.

By law, bond funds cannot be used for staff salaries and day-to-day expenses. Click here for more information.

Additionally, over the past two years, the Mansfield ISD Board of Trustees has approved a 4% mid-point raise for teachers and Mansfield ISD is one of the most competitive districts in the DFW area for teacher pay.

Mansfield ISD is following all state requirements for standalone propositions, which gives voters more choice. Since MISD’s last election, there are new state laws that require separate propositions for certain type of technology projects, separate propositions for stadiums with seating for more than 1,000 spectators, and separate propositions for recreational facilities. In MISD, Props D and E could have legally been combined, but MISD chose to give voters more choice on the second and third phases of the MACs.

Replacement buses for those past their lifecycle are proposed as part of Proposition A. For more information about the projects included, click here.

MISD currently has 100 buses that are either past their expected useful life or will be in the next five years. With the tremendous enrollment growth that our district experienced during the last decade, buses were added to our fleet as student enrollment increased. Many of those buses are now due for lifecycle replacements. The 100 buses included in the 2024 bond budget is based on the number that are due for replacement either now or by 2029. Buses will be purchased in increments over time. Additional buses will exceed their life expectancy in the next 10 years, 15, years, etc.

Proposition C includes renovations at seven facilities. By law, these facilities must be included on a separate proposition just for stadiums. These renovations include turf and other lifecycle replacements at all high school practice fields, Newsom Stadium, and completing the RL Anderson Stadium master plan to provide a comparable experience for competitors and spectators to the district’s other stadium facilities.

The scheduling demands of five high schools is challenging at Newsom Stadium. Having multiple venues for competitions allows reduced travel time so students can stay in class longer and helps keep kids off the roads late at night.

There is no “new” stadium proposed as part of Proposition C, which is approximately $50 million. The majority of Proposition C would be used toward the RL Anderson master plan, and additional funds in Prop C have been budgeted for the lifecycle replacements of turf and tracks at each of the five high school stadiums.

There are also funds designated to address drainage issues at Vernon Newsom Stadium. If voters approve Prop C, by law, those funds can and will only be used on stadiums with seating for more than 1,000 spectators. The bond proposal does not include routine maintenance items; it is for major capital projects.

Click here for a breakdown of Proposition D.

There is something proposed for every campus in Proposition A and Proposition B. Prop A includes projects like resurfacing playgrounds and a new Early Learners’ Academy. Prop B includes interactive panels that are used in classrooms. And, depending on what electives, and which co-curricular and extracurricular programs the students participate in, the renovations and improvements in Propositions C, D, and E could impact special education students as well.

Proposition A includes safety and security upgrades for every school and facility in the district. The district will replace some items, such as cameras, access controls, and fire sprinklers, which have reached the end of their useful life.

The district will also add weapon detection systems to more schools and stadiums, and construct a safety operations center for the MISD police and security departments. In addition, MISD’s network and fiber updates will allow the district to maintain its safety and cybersecurity systems.

Projects will begin immediately and will span between 2024-2029.

The buildings were completed as designed in the 2017 Bond Program. The budget allocated for the buildings was maximized to create the largest amount of floor space possible. In order to accomplish this, the building was designed in three phases. Phase 1 in the 2017 Bond Program included the building and a completed first floor. The first floor includes the spaces that the coaches determined to be the most beneficial and the most needed for the first phase. The first floor includes a large weight room, training room, equipment storage, team meeting rooms, and a laundry center. Phase 2, which was intended to be completed with funding from a future bond program, was also designed with input from the head coaches and trainers. Phase 2 will include more storage, locker rooms, showers, and coaches offices. Phase 3 would add an enclosed 50 yard practice field to be utilized by multiple extracurricular groups.

The original presentation to the Board of Trustees can be found on the MISD website under school board, school board meetings. The presentation is under January 2018 Board Agenda Item 5.2 – Presentation of the Schematic Design for the Multi-Purpose Athletic Centers at Each High School.

The presentation is under January 2018 Board Agenda Item 5.2 – Presentation of the Schematic Design for the Multi-Purpose Athletic Centers at Each High School – Paul Thompson.

The renovations proposed at RL Anderson Stadium would provide a comparable experience for competitors and spectators to the district’s other stadium facilities.

The scheduling demands of five high schools is challenging at Newsom Stadium. Having multiple venues for competitions allows reduced travel time so students can stay in class longer and helps keep kids off the roads late at night.

RL Anderson Stadium was constructed in 1955 and received bleacher updates in 1988 and some additional updates in 1997. The proposed plan to update this historic stadium was presented as an option to citizens who served on the MISD Long-Range Planning Committee. This is the first time since 1997 that a master plan has been proposed, which would update locker rooms, the press box, concessions, and improve security by updating LED lighting, fencing, and adding bollards. The master plan for RLA would bring it up to date while maintaining the feel and atmosphere.

We agree our teachers work extra hard and pour their hearts into our students! One strategy to increase teacher pay was the 2021 VATRE/Penny Swap that was utilized in the general fund that pays for teacher’s salaries. In fact, over the past 2 years, the Mansfield ISD Board of Trustees has approved a 4% mid-point raise for our teachers and is one of the most competitive districts in our area for teacher pay.

By law, 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.

The projects wouldn’t be completed and the new safety, technology, and other equipment would not be purchased. MISD would continue to operate as it does today but it would not have funds to replace big-ticket items when they fail or get into a state of disrepair.

No. The funds can only be used for what voters approve. For example, if we have additional funds from Prop A, but the technology proposition fails, we can’t use bond funds approved in Prop A to purchase technology devices.