Leon Strong

What's on the ballot

Three bond propositions and one tax-rate election. Each is voted on separately.

Leon ISD voters will see four separate questions this November: three bond propositions, A through C, and a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election, which appears on the ballot as Proposition D.

They are voted on independently. A voter can approve one and reject another, and each passes or fails on its own count. That is worth knowing before you get to the booth, because a ballot that lists Propositions A through D is easy to mistake for a single question about “the bond.”

A bond is money the district borrows for long-term capital needs, repaid through the Interest & Sinking portion of the school tax rate. By law, bond dollars cannot be spent on salaries or day-to-day operating costs — that is what the VATRE is for, and why the two appear separately on the ballot.

Proposition A

Safety, classrooms and buses

The largest of the three. Security upgrades, career and agriculture programs, gyms, playgrounds and buses.

What it funds, as listed by Leon ISD:

  • Safety and security
  • Career, Agriculture and Technical Education programs
  • Multipurpose facility for UIL extracurricular activities This replaces the existing auditorium with a new facility.
  • Junior High and Marquez gymnasiums
  • Baseball, softball and tennis facilities The tennis part is storage for the recently built courts — somewhere to keep balls and equipment.
  • Playgrounds
  • School bus purchases Texas now requires seat belts on every school bus by 2029 and sent no money with the requirement. Many of ours cannot be retrofitted, and the ones that can are within five years of retirement anyway. New buses arrive with belts and air conditioning.

Leon Strong asks you to vote FOR Proposition A.

Proposition B

Stadium, track and grounds

Athletic facility work, plus restrooms, concessions and transportation.

What it funds, as listed by Leon ISD:

  • Football stadium projects — new turf, visitor stand, press box
  • New track The current track is worn out and no longer meets UIL standards, so Leon cannot host a meet. That is why ours are all in Centerville and Buffalo.
  • Golf facilities Likely an indoor simulator on campus — fewer trips out to Hilltop, and more drilling between rounds.
  • Concessions, bathrooms and transportation projects

Leon Strong asks you to vote FOR Proposition B.

Proposition C

Indoor multipurpose facility

A single project: a covered space usable year-round and in bad weather.

What it funds, as listed by Leon ISD:

  • 60-yard multipurpose indoor facility

Leon Strong asks you to vote FOR Proposition C.

Proposition D

Teacher and staff pay: the VATRE

The Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election. Three golden pennies on the operating side of the tax rate, which is the only money on this ballot that can pay a teacher.

What it funds, as listed by Leon ISD:

  • Teacher and staff compensation
  • Other maintenance and operational needs Bond money legally cannot pay a salary. This is the question that does. The VATRE, explained in full.

Leon Strong asks you to vote FOR Proposition D.

Project lists are as published by Leon ISD at leonisdbond.com, which is also where the amounts are. Leon Strong did not write them. The indented lines underneath are ours — explanations, not ballot language.

What would it cost you?

Check the math against your own tax statement.

Open the tax impact calculator