Following the Mansfield ISD Board of Trustees unanimously passage of an order for a bond election at its Jan. 26 special meeting, early voting for the bond will occur from April 22-30 and election day is May 4. The $777 million bond includes five different propositions, each benefiting different programs throughout the district.

“Calling a bond election is like taking out a mortgage to purchase a house. If the bond passes, bonds get issued, the district receives the funding and the district repays them over time,” Dr. Kimberley Cantu, superintendent, said. “Bond elections are a tool school districts use to pay for major expenses that state and federal funding doesn’t cover. Districts use a bond election, which is essentially like taking out a loan, to build new schools, replace worn out school buses and other big budget items.”

The bond will not be a tax increase because of the financial responsibility Mansfield ISD has practiced while using funds from the interest and sinking tax rate portion, but by law, each ballot will state the bond is a property tax increase. Proposition A, worth $584.5 million or 75% of the bond, includes costs for district-wide lifecycle replacements and renovations, safety and security, a new early childhood campus, transportation, technology infrastructure and student support spaces. 

“The process we used to plan for this bond was very thorough, intentional, and included more than 100 stakeholders,” Dr. Cantu said. “That group, made up of parents, community members, and staff looked at all the possible outcomes–both positive and negative–before presenting their recommendations to the Board of Trustees.”

Career and technical education spaces at Ben Barber allow students to become college, career and life-ready when they graduate high school. With program numbers increasing as more students come in, there is a growing need for space.

“Expansions proposed for Career and Technical Education, fine arts and athletics couldn’t happen without the bond funds so those programs would essentially stay the same,” Dr. Cantu said. “There would be no additional space to add new CTE programs or add students in the fine arts courses that fill up quickly. The additional square footage that is proposed would allow the programs to grow, meaning more students could participate in the future.”

Safety and security improvements for the district include equipment upgrades and replacement, additional weapon detector systems and a safety operations center to replace the aging police station, giving technology more space. Under this proposition, on-campus cameras will be replaced with updated ones with extended views, allowing resource officers to have eyes on all corners at all times, Evolv weapons detection systems will be added at stadiums and middle schools.

“With voter approval on the bond in May, we plan to start as many projects as we can, as quickly as possible,” Mr. Donald Williams, Associate Superintendent of Communications and Marketing, said. “Some items like buses, technology equipment, and air-conditioning units can be purchased almost immediately after the bond election. 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.” 

If the bond is passed, orchestra rooms will be added to all high school campuses. Classrooms for the CTE program will replace the current orchestra rooms at Ben Barber. All middle school campuses will receive new storage rooms, band halls and support spaces. T.A. Howard, Brooks Wester and Rogene Worley Middle Schools will install new choir rooms as well. 

“The projects will be completed in phases over the next several years,” Mr. Williams said. “The middle school [fine arts] renovations could be complete by August 2028.”

Proposition A includes transportation advancements like bus replacements, renovations to the both the Main Street and 6th Avenue facilities, bus shops and maintenance bays. If approved, these purchases will be put in place almost immediately after the bond election.

“We need new buses! I know many of our parents and students have experienced the inconvenience of a bus breaking down. Some are starting to have problems more frequently than not,” Ms. Desiree Thomas, School Board Trustee Place Two said. “We have many that have reached their end of life. Prop A would allow MISD to purchase more buses to replace the ones that need replacing.”

The Dr. Jandrucko Early Learners Academy is currently the only one of its kind in the district. It functions as a pre-kindergarten with different hands-on learning activities for students who are unable to speak English, students at economic disadvantage, homeless students, students of active duty members of the armed forces of the United States and students in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services following an adversary hearing. 

“We just had a presentation on how our Early Learners are comparing to their peers and they are outperforming MISD students who did not have this experience,” Thomas said. “I would love to give all our Pre-K students in MISD the opportunity to attend the Early Learning Center, a second Early Learners Center would provide that opportunity for all the Pre-K students enrolled in MISD.”

Ms. Janeene Morrison works as the English Language Lead at the Dr. Jandrucko Early Learners Academy, and sees the students this program impacts every day. The academy allows students to be exposed to exploratory and engaging learning environments so that they are on the same, or higher, level as their peers when they enter kindergarten.

“When the current Academy was built, pre-kindergarten was a half-day program and now it is state-mandated to be an all-day program,” Ms. Morrison said. “We want to provide an equitable learning experience for all prekindergarten students in our district and to do that fully I believe a second PK Academy would be beneficial.”

Athletic updates in proposition A include resurfacing and adding lights to high school tennis courts, resurfacing middle school tracks, building covered batting cages at high schools, installing turf at baseball and softball fields at high school and middle school practice field renovations. This will catch MISD up with competing districts, and give our students equal opportunities with their competitors.

“The high school tennis courts do not currently have lighting, so tennis usually stops when the sun goes down,” Ms. Thomas said. “Some of the games go long and I have witnessed the players trying to play in the dark to finish out the match.”

Every current student in Pre-K through 11th grade – and future students – would be affected by the 2024 bond. The bond will be implemented through various projects over many years, and the money will be spent in chunks rather than all at once. Replacing technology, transportation and HVAC systems will be purchased immediately after the election, while renovations to the MAC and safety facilities will take longer to complete, as they require consulting with architechts, engineers and extensive planning. 

“One of MISD’s values – the first value – is that we put students first, so everything associated with this bond was designed with our students in mind,” Dr. Cantu said. “This bond will have a generational impact on our district. If it passes, MISD will have the ability to address the aging conditions at our campuses and facilities, maintain the buildings and programs we currently have, and expand spaces for career and technical education, early learners, fine arts and athletics.”

Proposition C of the Mansfield ISD Bond, if passed, allocates $50.5 million to renovate MISD stadiums, Vernon Newsom and R.L. Anderson Stadium and all high school practice fields. 

“[Proposition C] affects all five high schools because R.L.A. certainly needs it, especially the scoreboard and the press box needs to be upgraded,” Athletic Director Jeff Hulme said.

Renovations to Newsom and R.L. Anderson stadium include updates to the press box, locker rooms, bleachers, concessions and security. Junior Xander Marion believes these renovations will create a safer environment for all players.

“These renovations provide us access to updated facilities that can give us a competitive advantage,” Marion said. 

This proposition will resurface the tracks, replace turf and update the scoreboards at all high school practice fields. 

“The track has weeds growing through it and is broken in places,” Marion said. “So for our boys who are now going to state [for track], they will have the updated training experience they deserve.”

Hulme hopes the bond will pass and believes anyone who is 18 and above, that is registered to vote, should vote “yes” on all five propositions.

“I mean why wouldn’t you vote for it,” Coach Hulme said. “Your taxes aren’t going up, and it’s good for all the schools and the community.”

​​Proposition E issues $53 million toward initiating Phase 3 of the Multipurpose Athletic Complexes, including the development of a 50-yard indoor practice field containing one end zone. 

The proposed athletic complex would function as a multi-use facility for sports teams, cheer, band, JROTC, dance/drill team, track & field, summer programs, etc., and an indoor alternative during inclement weather conditions.

“This facility would allow all these different students to use the indoors when it is too hot in August/September, too cold, or too rainy to go outside,” Athletic Director Jeff Hulme said. “The construction of the indoor facility would benefit all athletes and allow for no more missed practices.”

The complex would be available for regular scheduling by student programs to provide additional practice and rehearsal space.

“[When it’s raining] we go to the weight room, so we’d get more practice time,” freshman JV football player Jake Jenkins said. “[I think it would be helpful] because we can practice during bad weather and don’t have to share one field between all sports.”

During football season the band utilizes the parking lot and other fields to practice their routines. With the construction of the MAC, the band could practice indoors.

“During marching season, we have to drive to either R.L. Anderson or Newsom, which for me is pretty far,” freshman marching band player Audrey Osburn said. “It would be very beneficial in terms of convenience.”

If voters pass the bond, Phase 3 will take eight to ten months to design and develop, followed by construction that will last 12 to 14 months. The project plans to be completed by August 2026, meaning current freshmen and all future students would be impacted.

”This is what is best for kids, the entire five proposition bond is needed for all Mansfield ISD,” Coach Hulme said.