Map of Texas Public School District Debt Outstanding
as of 8/31/11
In fiscal 2011, Texas’ 854 school districts with outstanding debt had $2,573.15 debt per resident. 170 districts had no debt outstanding. Debt per student in fiscal 2011 was $13,530.12 among the 854 school districts with debt.
On the map, the darkest colors represent the school districts with the most outstanding debt per resident. Of school districts with debt, 90 had debt per resident exceeding $5,000 in fiscal 2011.
Interest and Sinking Tax revenues pay the principal and interest debt service on bonds and other debt secured by property tax revenues. Maintenance and Operations Tax includes salaries, utilities and day-to-day operations.
- $0.00
- $0.01 to $999.99
- $1000.00 to $2,499.99
- $2,500.00 to $4,999.99
- Greater than $5,000.00
Source: Texas Bond Review Board
Digging Deeper on Education Debt
Now that you know the value of debt burdens carried by your school district and community college district, you may have
may have more questions about local education debt. The Texas Bond Review Board’s website
provides additional data about those debts, including debts issued by year and local
elections conducted to approve or reject debt issues. You can find that information on the
Texas Bond Review Board’s Local Government Services Web page at www.brb.state.tx.us/lgs/lgs.aspx
When reviewing bond data, you may find the following information helpful:
- Refinances of existing debt are typically issued directly by a governing entity, without a taxpayer vote.
- Issuing tax-supported bonds generally requires a taxpayer vote.