Anton residents will be asked to cast their vote in a bond election during the May 3 General Election.
Through their school website, Anton ISD (AISD) provided a bond announcement graphic that stated, “As a result of a recommendation from a facility committee, the AISD Board of Trustees called an election to be held on May 3, 2025, for $7.35 million. The committee recommended replacing roofs districtwide, installing new HVAC systems, renovating the Ag Building, renovating the Band Hall, and updating campus restrooms…” AISD Superintendent Freddie Tobias explained that there is a need for an infusion of money in the school district. “We do not receive the same kind of school funding from the state that we have in the past and those numbers are dwindling,” said Tobias. “In order to maintain and keep up with our facilities we need to have an infusion of funds somehow.”
AISD has already hosted a town hall meeting to address questions, concerns and inform the public of the details regarding the bond, March 4.
“There have been a lot of inquisitive minds,” said Tobias. “People want to know what this is all about, what the facts are, the possible tax increase and what we are looking to do if the bond election does pass.” Tobias added that the feedback has been great because the goal is to inform the community and are well aware of the possibilities.
A second and final town hall meeting is slated for April 1 at the AISD High School Library beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Additional informational resources have been provided on the schools website. A tab labeled informational flyer contains the town hall meeting details along with voting dates.
Part of the flyer includes the bond amount that is being sought along with the pictures of the key areas of focus. Looking at those key areas [mentioned in the committee recommendation], Tobias explained that the facilities are not getting any younger.
“We feel like the money would be going back to the kids of Anton ISD,” said Tobias. “This was not a spur of the moment decision. We did a thorough facilities assessment and we had several packed community meetings around what the needs of the district would be and what the community sees we need to move forward with.
“It was a community decision to present it to our board and they voted unanimously to move forward with the bond election. I think we really tried to do it the right way.”
Anton community members will need to register to vote by April 3. Early voting will be April 22 April 29 and Election Day will be May 3.
Part of the informational flyer are graphics in table form to show the proposed tax impact. The current tax rate for the district is $0.7118 and the tax impact would be an additional $.50 for a total of $1.2118.
The graphic also includes columns for market values of home along with residential homestead exemptions, taxable values after the exemption and the monthly tax impact. A side graphic also states the average homeowner in Anton ISD would have a proposed monthly tax impact of $8.05.
For community members 65yearsold and older the flyer states, “Anton ISD residents 65 and older with an applicable over65 exemption have their AISD tax bill frozen at their freeze ceiling. Your tax bill can go down but it can never go above your ceiling. Future property appraisal increases or tax rate increases will NOT increase your bill above your ceiling. However, significant improvements to your existing homestead can affect your bill.”
Proposed Ag land annual tax impact tables are also provided for Hockley County and Lamb County. The tables include the number of acres, irrigated crop, dry crop and native pasture with each column also providing the average value per acre.
Additional informational tabs are provided on the website such as a tax impact calculator, voting information, answers to commonly asked questions about the bond process and additional photos of the key areas to be worked on if the bond passes.