Frequently Asked Questions

Bond 2025 will impact every student and staff member in Cleburne ISD. 

• Prop A funds two new 750-student elementary schools to replace Cooke and Gerard, a ten-classroom addition and upgrades to Marti Elementary and other facility upgrades.
• Prop B funds a new multi-purpose stadium for athletics and fine arts at Cleburne High School and the historical preservation of Yellow Jacket Stadium.
• Prop C funds district-wide technology devices, systems and network upgrades.

The total amount of the proposed bond package is $232 million.

The last bond in Cleburne ISD was in 2021. It was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. Learn more about the 2021 bond.

Parents, educators, community leaders, and neighbors came together to study the district’s priorities and shape this bond package.

The bond package was developed by a 30-member Facility Advisory Committee (FAC) that included citizens, parents, and community leaders.

The FAC studied the age and life span of existing school facilities, campus parity, safety, and security. This committee provided insights and recommendations to the Board of Trustees and the Superintendent. Learn more about the FAC.

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 investments are too large to be included 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. School boards can only levy I&S taxes in the amount necessary to repay the bonds. If the amount needed to pay the bonds is less, the district taxes less.

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.

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

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

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

The property tax impact associated with the $232 million bond for Cleburne ISD, based on a $231,000 average home value with a homestead exemption, will be a decrease of $475.66 per year or $39.64 per month, if all three propositions are approved by voters this November. A $231,000 average home value without a homestead exemption will see an increase of $23.10 per year or $1.93 per month.

This impact includes the most recent compression and assumes the additional $40,000 homestead exemption is approved by voters in November. The combination of compression and an additional $40,000 on top of the existing $100,000 homestead exemption will cut school property taxes for a homesteaded property. This would take effect in January 2026.

Since 2019, Texas state law requires 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. 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.

Current homeowners ages 65 and over will not be impacted by the passage of this bond. Their school taxes will not go above the frozen levy amount/ceiling that was established when the Over-65 exemption was granted (unless improvements or additions are made to the residence). To have your school taxes frozen, you must file a homestead application with the appropriate appraisal district and be granted the Over-65 exemption.

In 2025, the Texas Legislature passed significant property tax relief measures aimed at homeowners aged 65 and older. This means eligible individuals can now receive a total school tax exemption of up to $200,000, combining the $140,000 general exemption and the $60,000 over 65/disabled exemption, if it is approved by voters in November. The existing school district tax freeze for seniors remains, ensuring that school district taxes on your home won't increase after you qualify, unless you make major home improvements.

For questions regarding the Over 65 Homestead, please visit the Johnson County Appraisal District at https://johnsoncad.com/ or call (817) 648-3000.

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 so the community may make an informed choice as to whether they wish to support or oppose a bond proposition. The District should also be responsive 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 have to explore other options to address the age 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. Portable classrooms are less secure than traditional classrooms.

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.

You can check your voter registration status here. You need a combination of (1) your Voter ID number or Texas Driver’s License number with date of birth, or (2) your name, county of residence, and date of birth.

You can fill out a registration application online, but an original application with signature must still be mailed to your local county voter registrar.

You can also call the statewide Voter Registration Office at 210-335-VOTE (8683) and request a voter registration application. You may also find voter registration applications at libraries, government offices, high schools, or with volunteer voter registration deputies.

Turn in your application by October 5. Get an application online.

If you moved to a different county, yes. If you moved to a different address within the same county, no, but you should update your address online. You can also get a new voter registration application, make note of your new address, and mail it to the Voter Registration Office.

When a person submits a voter registration application, county and state officials verify the person’s eligibility using various sources, including birth and death certificates. Local election officials ensure the submitted address is a residential location within the county. Registered voters are sent a registration certificate within 30 days. Voters receive a new certificate if they update their name or address. Otherwise, voters are sent a new certificate every two years.

If a county voter registrar receives a non-deliverable notice after sending a voter registration certificate or receives information that there’s been an address change, a voter is placed on the state’s “suspense list” and asked to confirm their address. Sometimes this can be due to errors at the post office or when a jury summons doesn’t go to the proper address and is returned.

Voters on the suspense list can still vote if they update or confirm their address before the voter registration deadline or fill out a “statement of residence” when voting. But if they have moved to a different county or precinct, they may have to vote at their previous polling location or vote a limited ballot. If a suspended voter takes no action, they are removed from the voter rolls after about four years.

Contact your county’s voter registrar here. If you believe you should be registered but don’t appear on the voter registration list at the polls, you can cast a provisional ballot. There’s no guarantee that a provisional ballot will ultimately be counted. The best bet to ensure you don’t have problems is verifying your registration is active and up-to-date ahead of the registration deadline.

Your local voter registrar must review the provisional ballot and verify your registration within six days of the election. The registrar then passes that information to the local ballot board, which decides whether the provisional ballot is eligible to be counted. Provisional voters must be sent a notice about whether their ballot was counted no later than 10 days after the election.

Early voting starts October 20 and runs through October 31.

Early Voting

Monday, October 20, 2025 - Friday, October 24, 2025; hours: 8:00 am until 5:00 pm

Saturday, October 25, 2025, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

Monday, October 27, 2025 - Wednesday, October 29, 2025; hours: 8:00 am until 5:00 pm

Thursday, October 30, 2025 - Friday, October 31, 2025; hours: 7:00 am until 7:00 pm

Voters may choose to vote in any one of the locations below regardless of where they reside in Johnson County.

Election Day is November 4. Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Election Day

All Locations open from 7AM-7PM.

You need to provide one of the following seven forms of identification:

• Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
• Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
• Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
• Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
• United States Military Identification Card containing your photograph
• United States Citizenship Certificate containing your photograph
• United States Passport (book or card)

If you don’t have one of the seven forms of identification listed above and can’t reasonably get one, you can also bring one of these:

• A copy or original of a government document that shows your name and an address, including your voter registration certificate
• A copy of or original current utility bill
• A copy of or original bank statement
• A copy of or original government check
• A copy of or original paycheck
• A copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes your identity, which may include a foreign birth document.

Get an application for ballot by mail here. You can vote by mail if you are:

• Going to be away from your county on Election Day and during early voting
• Sick or disabled
• 65 years of age or older on Election Day
• Confined in jail, but eligible to vote
• Mothers expecting a baby 3 weeks before or after Election Day