Bond Planning in 2025

May 11, 2025

By Jim Schiele

At some point all districts will find themselves considering a bond authorization, whether their enrollment is growing or shrinking, or whether their location is urban, suburban, or rural. 

Bonds are critical financial tools to fund important upgrades to district infrastructure such as repairs, remodeling, or even constructing new schools. Bonds must be approved by voters and that hurdle has become a larger task as property tax burdens have increased across the state.  

I’ve outlined five key steps when building a bond authorization project.

Step One: Determine the Projects

While the administration may know what projects are needed, it is best if the final recommendation to the board comes from a citizen’s committee, as they give the bond request credibility. Committees are usually appointed by the board and comprised of residents who are active in the school environment.  However, it is important to include residents who are not necessarily involved with schools, but are prominent in the community. Make sure your committee is representative of your community.  Do not make the committee too large, 15 to 20 people on the committee is more than enough.

Step Two: Build Your Team

During the committee process it is important to hear from experts regarding the areas of the bond program.  Most importantly, architects and financial advisors should be available to the committee to determine scope and financial impact to the community.

Other members of your team should include the contractor, experts from instruction development and facilities evaluation, and key members of your administration that can show the need for the facilities.

Step Three: Report to the Board

The committee should make a report to the board before any recommendation is made.  The board may have question or comments they want the committee to consider before making the recommendation.

Step Four: Recommendation to the Board

The committee should make a recommendation to the Board for consideration and, if appropriate, the committee recommendation can call for an election for the bond propositions.

Step Five: Develop a Communications Plan

It is essential that the need for the bond be clearly communicated to the community.  However, be mindful that school district personnel are presenting facts related to the bond and not advocating for a project, which is not allowed by Texas law.

Key elements of a communications plan include:

  • Development of a website for the bond propositions.
  • Scheduling meetings with faculty and department personnel – they are key to dissemination of information to the community.
  • Scheduling meetings with the community.  Holding a series of meetings to set forth exactly what the district’s needs are and how this proposition addresses those needs it critical

Contact me here with any questions.

Jim Schiele is Linebarger’s School Financial Consultant. He offers free assistance to Linebarger school district clients as they navigate budgets and meet financial deadlines. He can be reached at [email protected].

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