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"After months of vetting, we've identified a major obstacle: managing our existing bond debt. The district currently carries over $700 million in debt from previous bonds. Under a reshaping scenario, distributing this old debt fairly would require tens of millions in additional funding -- resources we simply do not have," the district wrote. "This added financial burden would not best serve the Keller ISD students and community."

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MByrd03 said:

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The issue is how to divvy up the debt if the district were to have split. The most recent bond allotment built multiple new elementary schools, constructed a college prep. academy, and built four indoor sports facilities for each HS. They reached out to investors to cover the debt but no one wants to invest in a school district considering all the problems the state is having. School districts across the state, even those in affluent areas, continue to have budget shortfalls and are consolidating/closing schools, cutting staffing, and reducing programs. Keller has tried to avoid all of these cuts but with the split off the table now, they are going to have to make tough decisions. Those against the split think this is a win but in reality everyone gets hurt because now the school board is going to be faced with some very difficult decisions. the second wealthiest school district in the state, Southlake, sold their admin building to a residential developer, is consolidating multiple elementary schools and middle schools to cover a $27 MM budget shortfall. This is an example of what school districts are dealing with.

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Yesterday said:

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Because we send something like 20 million a year back to the state and the state hasn't adjusted the per student allotment that we get since 2019 or something like that. So even though we have tons of money, most of it gets taken and we get severely depreciated credits.

The school board also doesn't want to pass bonds so we're tightening our budget and selling access property to make ends meet.

That's the general synopsis anyhow. I'm not an expert.

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Hincemm said:

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Yesterday said:

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Because we send something like 20 million a year back to the state and the state hasn't adjusted the per student allotment that we get since 2019 or something like that. So even though we have tons of money, most of it gets taken and we get severely depreciated credits.

The school board also doesn't want to pass bonds so we're tightening our budget and selling access property to make ends meet.

That's the general synopsis anyhow. I'm not an expert.

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Heard the Southlake superintendent speak on this earlier this year, and this pretty well sums it up. Robinhood - whether you support it or not - is the culprit. I really like the superintendent, by the way. Nice guy, knows his stuff.

The consolidation in Carroll ISD is likely to bump us back into 5A in the near future (next few years, I think) according to him. Don't mind that really.

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MByrd03 said:

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The issue is how to divvy up the debt if the district were to have split. The most recent bond allotment built multiple new elementary schools, constructed a college prep. academy, and built four indoor sports facilities for each HS. They reached out to investors to cover the debt but no one wants to invest in a school district considering all the problems the state is having. School districts across the state, even those in affluent areas, continue to have budget shortfalls and are consolidating/closing schools, cutting staffing, and reducing programs. Keller has tried to avoid all of these cuts but with the split off the table now, they are going to have to make tough decisions. Those against the split think this is a win but in reality everyone gets hurt because now the school board is going to be faced with some very difficult decisions. the second wealthiest school district in the state, Southlake, sold their admin building to a residential developer, is consolidating multiple elementary schools and middle schools to cover a $27 MM budget shortfall. This is an example of what school districts are dealing with.

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MByrd03 said:

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also, the star telegram reported the sale of the admin building a few months back. I have friends who live behind there and they also confirmed the sale as they aren't happy with a plan to build 80 new single family homes on the site, which includes the old football field.

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MByrd03 said:

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the old high school off Dove road, which is now an admin building, has been sold to a single family developer. I have spoken to many parents of kids in Southlake who have been told the school district is seriously considering combining middle schools and there is also discussion of consolidating elementary schools. I've also heard this from multiple teachers and coaches in the Southlake school district.

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Yesterday said:

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There has been a lot of talk about closing Durham which is a. Intermediate school. My kid goes there and my wife has attended the meetings. They would basically make the elementary schools to 5th grade and move 6th grade to intermediate

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