Voters should say no to bond
Pilot Point ISD is asking voters to approve a $295 million bond—the largest tax increase in our community’s history.
It is too big, too fast and too costly for a district our size, and it will affect every homeowner, renter and family in Pilot Point for decades.
Nearby districts with five to 10 times our student population build schools for similar amounts. Asking a small, mostly residential tax base to fund a mega-project designed for a much larger city is not reasonable or sustainable.
Property taxes are already overwhelming many residents.
Adding another 30 cents to the ISD rate will push working families, retirees and long-time homeowners on fixed incomes to the breaking point.
Even voters over 65— often told they are “protected”— are not insulated from the long-term consequences.
Rising taxes make it harder for their children to buy homes, harder for their grandchildren to stay here and harder for seniors themselves to remain in their homes.
Pilot Point also lacks the commercial tax base that offsets school taxes in larger cities.
We do not have corporate campuses, industrial parks or major employers generating millions in revenue.
Our tax base is overwhelmingly residential, which means the burden of this bond falls almost entirely on homeowners, renters and small businesses.
For a $295 million proposal, taxpayers deserve full transparency: detailed plans, cost breakdowns, future phases and an honest discussion of long-term tax impact.
We have not been given that.
Independent housing data shows typical Pilot Point home values between $300,000 and $390,000— far above the $150,000– $250,000 examples used in district materials.
Using unrealistically low values understates the true tax impact on most residents.
This bond guarantees higher taxes now, and rising appraisals guarantee even higher taxes later.
Pilot Point deserves responsible planning and a bond sized to our community— not a financial burden that risks pricing out the very people who built this town.
Tim Ruggiero Pilot Point
