BRENHAM ISD BOND ELECTION RESULTS
Brenham ISD Bond Issue (Final Total from Early Voting + Election Day)
“THE ISSUANCE OF $153,980,000 OF BONDS BY THE BRENHAM INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR SCHOOL FACILITIES (INCLUDING A NEW JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, EXPANSION AND RENOVATIONS TO THE HIGH SCHOOL INCLUDING CTE FACILITIES, AND DISTRICT-WIDE ACCESSIBILITY, SECURITY AND TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES) AND THE LEVYING OF A TAX IN PAYMENT THEREOF. THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.”
For - 1,750
Against - 2,255
Constitutional Amendments (Washington County Early Voting + Election Day)
Proposition 1: The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the reduction of the amount of a limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for general elementary and secondary public school purposes on the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled to reflect any statutory reduction from the preceding tax year in the maximum compressed rate of the maintenance and operations taxes imposed for those purposes on the homestead.
For - 3,636
Against - 452
Proposition 2: The constitutional amendment increasing the amount of the residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation for public school purposes from $25,000 to $40,000.
For - 3,673
Against - 451
I went to school in quonset huts. I don’t believe the type of building hurt my education. I am very much behind the public school system……. however just like Doctors, half all teachers graduated in the bottom of there class. If you want your child to be the best that they can be…don’t just depend just on the public school system. ….or it’s building
YOU DON’T HAVE TO AGREE ON THE ISSUE. Constructive feedback is helpful, but the negativity toward the different opinion? What happened to being able to vote and have your own opinion. “Small-minded Brenhamites are ruining the community.” or “There are no words to describe how poorly the committee failed everyone.” TO BE FOR THE BOND and say that because it didn’t pass, no one in the community cares about the future of Brenham area kids is ridiculous. TO BE AGAINST THE BOND and insult the people on the committee as if they were being greedy is ridiculous.
All the vote should mean is that, based on the results, the people of Brenham are saying that the MAJORITY do not agree with this particular proposal. It doesn’t mean that the no-voters want kids to suffer in school. It doesn’t mean that the yes-voters want to make you unable to pay for your home or your property taxes. This is a complex issue and while a solution was carefully considered and significant time given to it, the majority are saying that there are additional issues that they would like to be considered. It sounds like there are at least 3 areas people would like revisited – (1) the amount of the bond, (2) additional transparency in the breakdown of where the money will be spent (sports facilities vs classrooms), (3) more consideration to the affect this will have on different demographics of residents.
My first unpopular opinion – to suggest that a few less trips to Starbucks or less eating out will pay for the price of the bond, and to tell people they could make that happen if they really cared for kids is not constructive. We all have different incomes. Some of us never check the bank account before we go the grocery store to buy groceries and don’t have to check the price tag. Some of us go to the grocery store fearing the final total and when our kids come home needing new tennis shoes, we feel the weight of the world on our shoulders and think, we’re never going to get out of this stage financially. Some of us have experienced both of those examples in our lifetime. To think that in a time when people can see prices rising on their groceries, volatility in markets, changes to their utilities and the price of gas increasing, that saying “well if you eat out less, you can make it happen, and you’re selfish if you don’t” seems pretty harsh, right?
My last unpopular opinion – if you’re not on the committee or part of coming up with the solution, yes you can not like the solution and not agree with it. But to bash the people that did try to come up with a solution… You contributed nothing yourself to the proposal or project, you get to vote on it (this is how you share your opinion), but then you berate those that tried. You’re the sports fan at the bar, 3 sheets to the wind, noisily eating peanuts and telling everyone that can hear how you could coach the Texans better when you’re unhappy with the game score. Basically, a child pretending to be a grown-up.
People are saying no right now. Let’s consider other solutions outside of a bond. Let’s consider another bond proposal with some items revisited. I’d like to think we’re capable individuals that can find a solution that the majority agree on, not everyone, but the majority if we feel there is a huge problem to be solved – the education of our children.
And since I’m sure you’ll speculate whether I’m for or against, I was against the bond proposal.
The small-minded Brenhamites are killing this community. You have no idea what voting this bond down has done for the growth.
Brenham needs to do what Burton did. Better inform it voters with simple to understand printed mailers. Brenham tried to convince voters that an old junior high was just fine to be an elementary school.
The community we are now enjoying was built by the Brenham Industrial Foundation.
We need workers who can handle local jobs to continue fueling that engine.
We can’t even get unskilled workers now.
Explain to me how burdening the taxpayers with pork is going to help the community grow.
It was a bad deal. In the most optimistic possibility I can muster, the contractor had to pad construction costs by 30% or more to protect themselves against a supply chain problem bankrupting them. We don’t need to an uninformed consumer on a purchase this big.
When a reasonable bid comes (and I hope it’s the next one) we will vote for it – despite our small minds.
Please. Enlighten us!
It not the junior high that will be repurposed as an elementary school, but the middle school would be repurposed as an elementary school. Once a new junior high is built, the current junior high, will most likely be torn down, seeing the state that it is in, there’s not much else you can do to it.
So we should be ashamed of ourselves for not just considering the affect on our age group, but also considering the added financial burden on our children and grandchildren?
Do people 65 and over pay rent? All landlords have to raise their rents when their taxes are increased. Every single business in the community would have to increase their prices for goods and services to cover the higher prices. The claims over and over that 65+ will not be affected are simply untrue. Allegedly many appraisals are going to increase property values by 25%, add to that another 25% if the bond had passed. Under those circumstances anyone that paid $4,000 last year in school taxes, their burden would have been increased to $6,000. People would lose their homes due to being forced to sell their home, liss through forced tax sale and eviction due to the rent increases that would be forced. I can also guarantee you that attitudes like yours cost you votes.
People over 65 also own other property and businesses besides their homesteads . They are a big part of our local economy as most younger people are workers at not the owners of small businesses and ranch operations.
Kudos to the voters of Brenham ISD for sending a load & clear message to the BISD School Board & Administration much like the voters in Bellville ISD did, last fall! Listening to architects that stand to make huge sums of money of the design of fancy new schools instead of listening to the local voices of reason….Spending money on football field turf instead of replacing a school roof that leaked for years…. adding layers of high paid administration and not taking care of good teachers who left the district were some of the reasons that bond failed TWO to ONE! Let’s get back to the basics, folks…when it comes to our children’s education. The more fluff we add to education, the less education our children receive…..it’s like substituting candy for good food on their dinner plate!
I see both sides of this issue, We do need our schools to be in good condition , But with everything going up in cost like Gas, Food, and housing its hard to think about having to pay additional taxes. Especially knowing that our appraisals are already going to be higher this tax year. some people I know actually live on Social security alone , No other income, That can be as low as $900. a month. I also noticed on the Facebook comments that a lot of people who were admonishing anyone who voted “NO’ and telling them what a bad, selfish person they were I noticed that one theme always came through on there Facebook post and that was the statement of “Well there goes our teachers raises” I saw this statement several time which tells me that some of you who voted “yes” and said it was for the Kids also had another motive in mind . It was to get a raise in pay.
Maybe the “NO” voters were thinking about their children? Putting our children and community in more debt before we pay off our existing debt is shameful. Making homes less affordable in our county is detrimental to our children. Continuously being in debt and passing that debt along to the next generation of first time home buyers is very detrimental. Now this is just my opinion, and it’s a good thing that we can all have our own opinion and vote on what we feel is best. Maybe Mr. LaRoche should be ashamed that he feels his opinion is the only correct one or assuming his opinion is the only solution.
We continuously hear about how Brenham needs affordable housing. Adding another $100/month to a house payment is not that affordable for first time home buyers. Increasing property tax on rental properties increases the rent that tenants will pay.
Thank you NO voters.
Talk to your friends and get more people involved in the NO vote.
This will come up again, so rally the troops.
Taking back the country starts at home….. Mike out
I’m with you brother!
Brenham schools continue to be poorly constructed and WAY under performing. Teacher salaries are too low, the schools are falling apart, and the graduates are unprepared for college. At some point, people will stop moving to Brenham. Which is probably what the “no” voters want anyways.
What’s sad is hiding pet project $ into a vote for what is really needed in the district better, sound & a Base building to build off of later & Quality paying BISD jobs for the betterment of the community. Keep the pets out from under the table & this passes!
So a brand new overpriced school would have fixed under performing, increased teacher salaries, and prepared the graduates for college?!?! Now, schools falling apart was definitely at the heart of the voters decision making… the falling apart is due to lack of maintenance. One thing this bond election has done is bring this issue to light for everyone. The junior high did not get into it’s current condition overnight. That took years of neglect. There needs to be some accountability. Until we are properly maintaining what we have, we don’t need to spend more money on new. I realized that the junior high may be too far gone at this point, but if BISD wants a winning bond election, they need to go back to the drawing board and obtain real numbers. Don’t call the voters uneducated for expressing concerns about the bond. Instead educate us! And this doesn’t mean unleash a PR campaign with pretty graphics and bullet points. Show hard numbers, real estimates from contractors, and discuss viable options.
I’m sick and tired of seeing all the posts of the ‘losing side’. I think some of them need a safe room and a blankie. They were so aggressively chanting -IT’S ALL OR NOTHING, RIGHT NOW, in your face basically telling you either vote yes or you’re a child hater. One of those supporters was insinuating that people who didn’t want to vote yes should just move. Well, I say the same thing to all those folks saying how ashamed they are now to live in Brenham. The majority spoke. No bond right this minute. Make do, patch it some more and keep on trucking! Sometimes that’s all you can do!
The BISD bonds slides were informative in many ways. The BISD slides arguing for the bond depicted a lower tax rate than all other ISDs in the area but I was disappointed in the omission of property valuations, but maybe I didn’t see the slide. It seems logical that the two are always compared together and linked. You could have the lowest valuations and the highest rates in Texas and still have lower property taxes than any other in the state. I always be in favor of a state income tax and absolutely no property tax. But as it is, on those amendments that were also so favorable in voting, we seem to be forgetting that the loss in revenue from cutting taxes from certain folks, has to be made up for in others. If not, we’re cutting all team sports! – Just joking. Property tax is a bad solution, its subjective at its roots in applying valuations, it remains present, even with a nationally imposed moratorium on rent (that we just had a couple of years of), it assumes a landlord is willing to raise the rent on the impoverished.
Also some notes from the bond proposal docs:
Notice on the BISD bond related document that the junior high is to be repurposed as an elementary with only $1.7 million needed in bathroom mods and some minor renovations for it be up and running for the youngest and most impressionable resident (or potentially resident) minds of Brenham as an elementary school. How is it so different as a elementary school?
County tax payers are already paying to help fund the Blinn CTE program, can our HS not partner directly with this excellent resource to achieve like or better results?
I was watching a MIT lecture filmed in 2021 with the instructor effectively using chalk boards to educate. Not to show you can but more to show that IT as it typically integrated in the classroom these days, is a distraction from learning. It is also a crutch for the instructor. The bond proposal overview doc uses the adjectives of “viable” and “adequacy” as what the school does not do now. I would like to know, what does?
Redundant links (for the Internet) for students and teachers, more assurance to make sure the crutches are always up and running. Learning how tech works, how to use it and maximize it, how to limit it and its use for the better are not the same as using it as a teaching tool with its many built in distractions and disruptions.
The community education building is up and running, it was a school before and can be again (or at least part of it to relieve growth or to serve a select portion of the student body )or is not kid friendly anymore? Is it now only adult friendly? Community education has many other places it could use as a potential classroom.
Maybe something can be said that renders my observations all moot, all I can go is by what’s been presented. But I didn’t vote no for the bond, I just didn’t vote because I don’t know enough about the issue and the work that’s been done to find a solution.
It not the junior high that will be repurposed as an elementary school, but the middle school would be repurposed as an elementary school. Once a new junior high is built, the current junior high, will most likely be torn down, seeing the state that it is in, there’s not much else you can do to it.
This is a great reminder that we Citizens can still say NO, and not just stand by and let things be imposed on them by those in power.
I am a taxpayer in Brenham with children in BISD. In fact I was at my child’s Honor Society ceremony at the Junior High recently,
where there was some not-so-subtle pressure to vote in the bond election, for which all the big shots applauded.
We can do the right thing for our students with a less costly plan, as others have said.
Not everyone is independently wealthy. Taxes are already high and are about to spike even more due to appraisal values. To ask the common man to shoulder still more was too much.
Agree each year they raise the appraisal value by 8 to 10 percent while telling us they did not raise the rate. Of lot of us have to work out of town to afford to live here. So rework the bond with the people in mind not your pride.
I would agree that it’s sad that we can’t give our kids all they deserve. Perhaps you’re wealthy enough to be able to bear the burden of what are outrageous taxes which are about to go even higher! To ask even parents of kids to bear still more burden was a bridge too far.
While I’m all for providing our kids with an environment and all that they need…this was poorly timed. Property taxes are already high and due to the current real estate market (crazy!) everyone is shortly going to see a significant spike in what they’ll be required to pay! The last thing we needed was gas on the fire!
Let us hope that the wish list can be put aside, and the actual needs, not wants, can be addressed for another solution in the future.
I was so happy to see that more people had the logical, fiscally responsible choice.
Best news I have heard in a few months!
Thank you for making a distinction between wish list wants and actual needs. If the bond committee had submitted a reasonably priced bond for the NEEDED Junior High, I am certain the voting results would have been different. I hope committee members take the time to listen to the NO voters to understand that we want to help the students of BISD without being taxed out of Brenham.
I am not surprised this bond issue failed, it was to much of an ask without any real transparency. Property taxes are one of my biggest expenses and before they are raised, the officials at the school district need to scale back their requests to something that is much more reasonable. Secondly, I have observed our schools over the years, updates and maintenance are simply not good; whether you are talking about the yards and tress, to the failure to keep exterior surfaces properly painted, to keeping interior electrical & plumbing and housekeeping where it should be, the school has failed. Before they ask us for more money, how about doing a better job of taking care of what you have already been entrusted with. I remember when the high school was shiny and new and then I watched as the district really seemed to neglect the upkeep of that very expensive building. Try walking around the outside and see all the things that need to be taken care of. How about starting a committee to look into that? Show our students we care by taking care of the schools we have. Lastly, the school district has remained grossly overstaffed with administrative central office staff and “specialists”, how about doing a better job of controlling those costs and investing more in the classroom. The administration seems to have no clue how hard it has become to be a classroom teacher and the incredibly long hours that have to be put in just to keep up with all the paperwork and administrative work that has no real benefit for student learning.
Great comment, concerns and ideas!
What I’m hearing from you is that BISD needs both a bond to replace the Jr. High and also to raise the M&O tax rate to spend more money on teachers and facilities maintenance. And given the circumstances I might not disagree. What I’m not hearing from you is any anger directed at the state and federal legislative incumbents. Those are the people that pass unfunded local mandates, restrict local control and flexibility, create the vast administrative overhead you decry, and put in place petty bureaucratic occupational rules that chase off talent and result in persistent teacher shortages. They talk about property tax relief and some of them talk about property tax elimination, but it’s all a shell game, shifting burdens around and playing Robin Hood and never wanting to get to the brass tacks which are cost control measures. They all want to say that they’ve done something, when doing absolutely nothing other than to undo their predecessors’ many somethings would suffice. They love it when constituents blame agencies because we aren’t blaming them. Incumbents need to understand that we will vote against them, their primary challengers, for the opposing party, and even for a nitwit if that’s the only other option on a ballot. We need to make them feel uncomfortable on principle because they need to represent us, here, locally. Or else.
First, a lot of 65+ folks will pay more because they have more property than just their homestead.
Because right thinking people request a plan that is reasonable doesn’t make them negative.
I have a plan…involve people who know how to develop reasonable plans.
Good, my school taxes are high enough. Live within a budget.
And when you or your loved ones cannot afford simple things like gas, food or clothing or even simple doctor appointments, use that same energy please. Learn to live in your budget.
Woo hoo!!!! I’m so happy that we have reasonable thinkers and voters in this county! Now maybe BISD will have to show what they did with all the tax payer money that was allocated in previous years to maintain and repair the school in the first place. Congratulations all you NO voters, I’m proud of you. Great way to have your voices be heard.
Back to the drawing board BISD, bring something reasonable to us next time!
Paul Im sure they would gladly take your donation to build or repair, How about you starting a Fund raiser to get the money for the new school. I dont think anyone should feel ashamed on how they voted some people do not have the financial recourses that others have and it would have placed a burden on them . Just because people dont agree with your way of thinking do not tell them they should feel ashamed.
ALL THE NO’S SHOULD BE ASHAMED!
Sounds like the ones who are upset with those of us who voted “no” are taking a page from the guy in the White House regarding those of us who disagree with him. Yes, I voted “no” because I don’t have any confidence in our bureaucrats exercising fiscal restraint!
The “bureaucrats” are people you know–myself, Susan Jenkins, Coach Sullivan…
I’m happy the Bond did not pass, with that said, we really need a way to find the money to fix the school. We can’t just keep taxing ourselves. We need to look into other unnecessary spending. Open to suggestions
I’m glad this bond failed, now BISD needs to put forth a a more transparent bond and show the taxpayers they are taking responsibly with our money. Look at Walker, they are building several schools for less money. Why can’t BISD do the same thing??
The taxpayers are not as stupid as they think we are.
It’s bad timing, it’s a bad plan, it’s to much money and to many secrets!
Awesome! Great! Love it!
Bet it was all the rich folks at Maifest that voted for it. Appreciate all the folks that voted against it. No Farmers = No Food.
Thanks everyone for thinking about the future of this town and our kids!!!!! Hope everyone is happy. Truly unbelievable. Selfish. Horrible. Those that voted no should be ashamed. Wait until something happens at BJHS – the lawsuits will start rolling in. It will happen too. THINGS NEED TO CHANGE. It’s a sad day to live in BRENHAM TEXAS!!!!!!!!! TRULY SAD!!!!!!!!!!!
We are being responsible…we understand the need for good facilities but that proposal was way too much money. All they have to is get reasonable people involved in getting something manageable. The world will not end because we ask for a better plan. You should be ashamed for bashing folks for simply wanting a more reasonable approach.
Just my two cents. I do not think any one should be admonished or reprimanded for the choice they made. I am proud to live in Brenham regardless!!
Well said
I would agree that it’s sad that we can’t give our kids all they deserve. Perhaps you’re wealthy enough to be able to bear the burden of what are outrageous taxes which are about to go even higher! To ask even parents of kids to bear still more burden was a bridge too far.
It’s OK. If the lawsuits do start rolling in, TASB will gladly pay out the claims with that $220 million in taxpayer money that they are sitting on just for such an event.
Brenham has been fine for a 100 years buddy.
And I’m sure you will be the first to file a lawsuit!? You are acting like a spoiled brat at best. How about putting your name on your post, so all those “selfish” people can know who they are being judged by.
Do we need a new school? Absolutely! Should it cost what the committee asked for? Unequivocally NO!!! There are no words to described how poorly the committee failed everyone here. The children and the citizens of this area should all look directly at this committee and hold them responsible. Had they proposed something that was reasonable, it would have passed.
1. Do not tell us it cost 145 million to build a school of this size. Forget hiring experts, put real developers and people in the industry on the committee. What are we trying to do, have one of the fanciest school in Texas? For reference, the Academy Sports DC just sold for 190 million in Katy (45 million more than the proposed slight for the school) and it has 1.25 million of warehouse space and 250,000 of office space…and had a tenant paying rental income!!! Break out the per square foot cost of what they asked for the new school!! It’s shameful!! Yes, some places within the school have a high square footage cost, but much of what you need is good classrooms space which is not expensive. Your high expenses come from restrooms, kitchens, athletic facilities, and other similar areas.
2. Break out the cost for all the different areas. Don’t play a game of cloaks and daggers. Be forth coming!! Visibility into this bond was horrendous. Heaven forbid we get a bit of honesty here.
3. Why do you need to build it for such a huge increase in students day one!? How about you incorporate the ability to add-on down the road when needed without the cost being overly exorbitant? Surely you can develop an architectural plan to accommodate that? Maybe it was too much work for you. I guess you rather just spend more money than work harder I assume? It’s not like it was your money, just everyone else’s.
4. The only person who would have won here would have been the contractors awarded ridiculous contracts to build this school.
Yes!! Why did the committee not explain why the cost was so high? I bet there were less costly options that were ignored. And why was the sports and band stuff included if the building is the emergency? If you need equal locker rooms, throw up some dry wall and split the boys’ in half like you should have done years and years ago. Y’all have been in violation of Title 9 for FIFTY YEARS!!! Literally half a century!!! It is no coincidence that BISD suddenly considers this an emergency when they need a bloated bond to pass. Do better next time and budget and trim fat like we all have to do, instead of trying to emotionally manipulate us. Then I may vote yes. I want those Jr. High kids to have a great facility but I have zero faith that BISD would be a good steward of the money they requested.
5. Make sure you go down tomorrow to Central Office and give them your actual name and contact information so they can contact you when the next bond committee is formed. You can put your extensive knowledge to work for the good of the community rather than running down those who worked for solutions this time around. I’m 100% for constructive discussions and real solutions but I’m done with keyboard warriors and cheap talk. Once we work on solutions rather than all the negatives we will be heading in a positive direction.
You can not honestly think that an Academy Sports warehouse and a fully equipped school are good financial comparisons.
You don’t have the slightest idea what you are talking about. It’s amazing how the uneducated try to appear so. How much do you think it costs to grow a community? How much do you think it costs to attract people here? How much do you think it costs to provide a great education for our children. I’m sure a few less trips to Starbucks won’t kill you.
Thank goodness, glad school bond DID NOT pass! May not sell my home now!
Yet seems as if appraisal district and city everyone else is raising taxes though!
As a tax payer
I think people were voting against “the amount of money” that the bond committee was asking for- it was way over priced- you don’t have to have fancy schools to teach kids- just clean and safe schools are needed – and besides, gas and food and cost of living are sky high right now- people are struggling right now.
Well said
And you have a degree in commercial construction from where? the company that gave the bond planning committee the numbers are professionals in the field and gave several options and the committee chose the cheapest route.