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What is a school bond?
A school bond is similar to a home mortgage. It is a contract to repay borrowed money with a low-cost interest rate 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.

How was the bond package developed?
The BISD Board of Trustees hired an architect to perform a facility assessment of all BISD campuses in September 2009. The firm studied all district campuses in terms of building code, handicap accessibility, Texas Education Agency (TEA) standards, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, and structural and architectural conditions. The District formed a Bond Steering Committee (BSC) to study the facility assessment and make a recommendation to the Board for the May bond election projects. The BSC met over the course of five meetings from December 2009 through February 2010 and made their formal recommendations to the Board on February 23, 2010. On March 1, 2010, the Board voted unanimously to call a bond election for the BSC's recommended projects.

How is the District's tax rate configured?
A school district's tax rate is comprised of two tax rates: the Maintenance & Operations tax (M&O) and the Interest & Sinking tax (I&S). The M&O rate is used to operate the school district, including salaries, utilities, furniture, supplies, food, gas, etc. The I&S rate is used to pay off school construction bonds. Bond sales only affect the I&S rate.

What are the historical tax rates of BISD?

Year	Total Tax Rate
2003	$1.5000
2004	$1.5000
2005	$1.3648
2006	$1.5000
2007	$1.4960
2008	$1.1540
2009	$1.1390
2010	$1.1235

What is the District's I&S tax rate, and how does it compare to other districts?
Currently, BISD's Interest & Sinking (I&S) tax rate, is $0.084. When combined with the district's Maintenance & Operations (M&O) tax rate of $1.04, the total tax rate for Breckenridge ISD is $1.124.

The chart below compares the 2009 tax rates of other area school districts.

District	2009 M&O Tax Rate	2009 I&S Tax Rate	2009 Total Tax Rate
Graham ISD	$1.04	$0.311	$1.351
Gorman ISD	$1.04	$0.283	$1.323
Brownwood ISD	$1.04	$0.279	$1.319
Mineral Wells ISD	$1.04	$0.201	$1.241
Sweetwater ISD	$1.04	$0.190	$1.230
Bangs ISD	$1.04	$0.182	$1.222
Abilene ISD	$1.04	$0.126	$1.166
Snyder ISD	$1.04	$0.124	$1.164
Wylie ISD	$1.04	$0.090	$1.130
Breckenridge ISD	$1.04	$0.084	$1.124

How will the proposed bond election affect my taxes?
If the bond is successful, the total tax rate is estimated to increase by a maximum of 37.6 cents. The average homeowner in BISD will pay an estimated $4.69 more per month in taxes. Please visit the Tax Impact page for more information.