La junta directiva del ISD de El Paso vota sobre un bono de hasta $480M para mejoras escolares

The El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees will vote Tuesday on whether to call for a bond election in November that could raise up to $480.8 million for school improvements, according to El Paso Matters.

District officials will present the board with three funding options, each containing four propositions. Option 1 requests $208.9 million; Option 2, $445.8 million; and Option 3, $480.8 million. If approved by voters on November 3, the bonds would represent the district's first major bond in a decade and serve as an initial step toward a $1 billion long-range master plan developed by the Citizens Bond Steering Committee, which includes parents, residents and school employees.

Option 1 dedicates $159.2 million to air conditioning upgrades, safety improvements and transportation, $25.6 million for athletic stadium renovations, $13.5 million to refinance district debt, and $10.6 million for student technology. Options 2 and 3 expand upon these proposals, with Option 3 adding deferred maintenance costs and increasing the air conditioning allocation to $396 million.

The district has prioritized converting all evaporative coolers to refrigerated air conditioning within two years. EPISD serves over 46,000 students across more than 70 campuses with an average age exceeding 49 years.

If the board calls for an election, early voting would run October 19–30, with Election Day November 3. The registration deadline is October 5. The board must act by August 17 to place the bond on the November ballot; otherwise the district must wait until May.

The tax impact varies by option. Options 1 and 2 would maintain EPISD's tax rate at $1.08 per $100 property valuation, likely increasing tax bills as home values rise. Option 3 would raise the rate to $1.09 per $100 valuation. Homeowners age 65 and older have frozen school taxes and would see no increase regardless of the outcome. EPISD has posted a tax impact estimator on its website but has not disclosed which propositions the tool includes in its calculations, according to El Paso Matters.

The bond vote comes weeks after the board declared financial exigency in June, leading to staff layoffs. Two new trustees, Matthew Reza and Brian Kelley, were appointed to fill vacancies left by resignations.