Voters in Prosper have approved three of four bond propositions for the school district. Prosper ISD is one of the fastest growing districts in Texas with enrollment increasing from about 1,000 students in 2002 to more than 28,000 now.
Prosper ISD expects enrollment to surpass 45,000 students within another ten years.
"We have experienced hypersonic growth, and with every piece of growth that comes, we have another opportunity to get better and serve the best in the state," says Prosper ISD Superintendent Holly Ferguson.
Proposition A includes $2.44 billion for the construction of new schools, modernization of campuses, and the purchase of land, school buses and other transportation. That proposition passed 65% to 35%.
Proposition B includes $140 million for classroom technology for students and teachers. That proposition passed 64% to 36%.
Proposition D includes $125 million for a performing arts center and passed 56% to 44%.
The only proposition to fail was Proposition C which would have provided $94.9 million for a second football stadium. Voters rejected that measure 56% to 44%.
"Sometimes trying to understand what's going to be needed in five to seven years is really hard for a community to get their mind around because they're working and thinking about the current moment," Ferguson says.
Ferguson says the stadium would have helped future classes have a place where they could gather together and learn how to work as a group. She says Prosper ISD's biggest classes are 2nd, 4th and 6th grade, and those grades are not participating in athletics yet.
Despite losing the stadium, Ferguson says she is "ecstatic" for the support of other parts of the bond.
"This community showed up in one of the biggest ways possible," she says. "They continue to believe in Texas public schools, specifically in Prosper ISD."
Ferguson says the process became more difficult as a result of changes passed by the Texas legislature in 2019. A bill passed then requires any school district to include, "THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE" on the ballot when asking for a bond. Ferguson says Prosper ISD actually would not have increased its tax rate, and the school board reduced the tax rate for the third year in a row in 2022.
The law also required districts to split bond proposals up to let voters decide each issue individually.
"We've got some work to do down in Austin to get things moving in the right direction for public education," Ferguson says.
But she says the approval of the other three parts of the bond will set the district up to handle the additional students who are expected.
"The second largest bond in the history of Texas, I'll take it all day long," she says. "I could not be prouder of what is happening in this district."
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube