Tuloso-Midway Independent School District

Tuloso-Midway ISD’s proposed bond package consists of two propositions: Prop A and Prop B.

Prop A addresses aging facilities and equipment through district-wide facility and furniture updates, modernization at Tuloso-Midway High School, Ag facility updates and SPED sensory room renovations. Prop A also includes a new construction of the high school band hall, fieldhouse, multipurpose pavilion and an outdoor extended learning playscape at the middle school. If approved, Prop A would also fund the purchase of new buses and technology updates.

Prop B includes the purchase of new technology devices for students and teachers for classroom and home use.
 

The total amount of the proposed bond package is $140 million.
 

The last bond in Tuloso-Midway ISD was 3 years ago.
 

In 2023, voters approved a $164 million bond to fund facility renovations, safety updates, new CTE Center, a new junior high, natatorium updates, and athletics facility updates, impacting every student and campus in TMISD.

So far, all projects at the Baseball Field, Softball Field and the Tennis Courts have been completed. TMISD broke ground on the new Career & Technical Education Center in March 2025. Construction on the natatorium began in March 2025.

Additionally, safety and security upgrades continue across the district, three new school buses and two activity buses have been purchased, and new band instruments have been purchased. 

The new Junior High School will break ground on April 16, 2026. Land acquisition for the campus caused a two-year delay in the project.
 

In March 2023, Superintendent Steve VanMatre brought together an internal steering committee to begin developing a new strategic plan that would guide all elements of the school district through 2028.

Working with an external facilitator, the district developed a four-phase approach designed to bring parents, teachers, community members, senior citizens, and business leaders to the table while making decisions with students in mind. Together, they built a strategic plan based on research and data.

Continuing the district's strategic plan, the proposed bond is phase two of the four-phase plan.
 

Texas school districts do not receive state funding for renovating or building new schools. Instead, they must receive funds through school bond elections.

The law provides that a school district must hold an election and get permission from voters to sell bonds and to levy taxes to pay for them. Bonds are sold to provide funding for capital improvements that last for a number of years. Such projects are typically too large to be funded in annual operating budgets. Just as an individual agrees to repay a new home loan, voters authorize the District to sell and repay bonds for making major capital improvements.
 

The Board of Trustees calls for an election. If the bonds are approved by voters, the bonds are sold to investors. Proceeds are used for approved capital projects.

The tax rate is set in two parts: one to cover the operating costs (payroll, supplies, equipment, insurance, utilities, etc.) and the other to pay principal & interest due on the bonds each year.
 

Bond money may be used for new schools and facilities, expansion and renovations of existing facilities, furniture, technology, equipment, and new school buses.
 

Bond money can only be used for capital improvements and related costs. They may not be used for employee salaries, utilities, and other such operating expenses.
 

The bonds may be sold 45 to 60 days after the bond election. Generally, once a bond issue passes, the architects begin the design work and the bid process. Construction itself would be anticipated to begin several months after the election.
 

The property tax increase associated with the $140 million bond for Tuloso-Midway ISD based on the average home value in the district, which is approximately $256,576, will be an increase of $10.93 per month if both propositions are approved.

• Prop A = $10.60 per month
• Prop B = $0.33 per month

The estimated financial impact of Bond 2026 includes the $140,000 homestead exemption approved by state voters in November. Homeowners age 65 and older will now receive a $200,000 homestead exemption if they have filed for and received the Over-65 Exemption through their local tax assessor’s office.
 

Since 2019, Texas state law requires all bond propositions for any school district to have the phrase “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE’ on all ballot language for bond propositions. Homeowners age 65 and older who have filed for and received the Over 65 exemption will not see an increase over their frozen dollar amount, if there are no major improvements or additions to their home. Check your most recent Notice of Assessed Value Change to see if you will be impacted.
 

There will not be an increase in taxes for senior citizens or disabled persons as a result of this proposed bond. School property taxes for senior citizens and disabled persons are frozen and would not be affected by passage of the bond election as long as they have applied for and received the Over 65 Homestead Exemption with the appropriate appraisal district and no significant improvements are made to the homestead.

Recent legislation passed in November raised the Over-65 Homestead exemption to $200,000. As a result, current homeowners aged 65 and older who own a home with an assessed value of $200,000 or less will now see their school district taxes drop to zero if they have filed for and received the exemption. 

To have your school taxes frozen, you must file a homestead application with the appropriate appraisal district and be granted the Over-65 exemption. To check your exemption status and current school district tax amount, visit the Nueces County Appraisal District property search website or call 361-696-7683.
 

Veterans who have a 100% disability rating or surviving spouses of a member of the U.S. armed services killed in the line of duty would not see an increase in taxes.

Tax Code Section 11.131 entitles a disabled veteran awarded 100 percent disability compensation due to a service-connected disability and a rating of 100 percent disabled or of individual unemployability to a total property tax exemption on the disabled veteran's residence homestead.

Tax Code Section 11.133 entitles a surviving spouse of a member of the U.S. armed services killed or fatally injured in the line of duty to a total property tax exemption on his or her residence homestead if the surviving spouse has not remarried since the death of the armed services member.
 

By law, the role of any school district during a bond election is to share factual information with the voters, respond to citizens’ questions related to the bond issue, and to ensure voters know when and where they have an opportunity to vote.
 

If the bond package does not pass, the district may explore other options to address the age and condition of its facilities, including using the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) budget for repairs. The M&O budget funds expenses such as teacher salaries and student programs.

If approved by voters, bonds are paid from a dedicated funding source, which is different from the M&O fund used for teacher salaries and student programs.
 

As local revenue increases, the state decreases the funding it provides to the school district. When the state determines there is more local revenue than needed, it will ask the district to pay recapture, which sends local tax dollars back to the state to be redistributed to other districts. 

Due to property valuations, TMISD is labeled as a recapture district and annually directs hundreds of thousands of dollars back to the state.

While the district's M&O funds are subject to recapture, I&S funds generated by bond elections are not subject to recapture. This means 100% of the funds stay in district. 

• Last year, TMISD sent $887,370 back to the TEA due to recapture.
• Since 2016, TMISD has sent $10,603,524 in recapture.