Every number on this site comes from the District's own budgets and bond filings. Read them, check them, and ask the District to show its math before the 2027 bond vote.
Annual debt service in millions of dollars. Source: Frisco ISD Series 2026 Official Statement, Appendix A.
Every figure below comes from the Texas Education Agency's own public data for Frisco and 15 comparison districts.
Under TEA's deputy, associate, and assistant superintendent role code, Frisco reported 2 in 2015-16 and 10 today, while enrollment grew 18%. Under the same code, Plano reports 5, Allen 4, Prosper 2.
2015-16 to 2023-24. That is about twice the rate of comparable districts (+17%). Function 41 covers the superintendent's office, business, and human resources; some central costs are reported under other TEA functions.
Since 2021-22, enrollment fell and teaching positions fell with it (down 193), but non-teaching staff grew 8.7%.
$370,466 base pay plus $40,595 in supplements, as reported to TEA. Regional neighbors' total pay: Allen $441,889, Prosper $386,616, Plano $362,695, Lewisville $345,948, McKinney $305,000.
Old bonds start paying off after 2033. A new bond can keep the rate from ever coming down.
Up from $0.2M in 2015-16. These payments between districts typically include state recapture.
Sources: TEA PEIMS Staff Salaries and FTE Counts, 2015-16 to 2025-26; TEA PEIMS Superintendent Salary Report, 2025-26 (base and total pay, statewide rank by total pay); TEA PEIMS Actual Financial Data, FY2016 to FY2024 (function 41, general administration; function 91, payments between districts), adjusted to 2025-26 dollars using CPI-U; TEA PEIMS fall enrollment. Comparison districts: Plano, Allen, McKinney, Prosper, Lewisville, Conroe, Aldine, North East, Austin, Fort Worth, Arlington, Fort Bend, Garland, Klein, El Paso.
Your Frisco ISD tax bill has two parts. The Maintenance and Operations rate runs the schools. The Interest and Sinking rate pays only for bonds. As old bonds are paid off, the Interest and Sinking rate could fall.
The District has structured its existing payments to stay flat at about $195 million a year through 2033. After that, the payments drop. A new bond can be timed to fill that space. That is how a "no tax rate increase" bond works: your rate does not go up, but it may never go down either.
Source: Series 2026 Official Statement, Appendix A, Debt Service Requirements and Authorized But Unissued Bonds.
Frisco ISD has paid off old bonds faster on purpose. That keeps today's debt payments high, so the 27 cent debt rate never comes down, and it clears space after 2033 to add new debt on top. This is not our interpretation. It is how the District describes it.
“All of the refinancing we've done this year has shortened our debt payback schedules to make room for future bond programs.”Frisco ISD, 2026-27 Budget Workshop #3, May 7, 2026
| What happened | When | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Used $24.6 million of extra debt tax money to pay off bonds early | March 2025 | Debt fund money left over after payments went to early payoff |
| Refinanced bonds and cut the final payment date from 2044-45 to 2031-32, from 20 years to 7 | August 2025 | Saved $93.5 million in interest, but packed the payments into the next 7 years |
| Further refinancings in October 2025 and 2026 | 2025 to 2026 | More payoff moved earlier |
| School year | Debt payments |
|---|---|
| 2023-24 | $176.3M |
| 2024-25 | $179.3M |
| 2025-26 | $198.4M |
| 2026-27 | $201.2M |
| 2027 to 2033, each year | about $195M |
| 2034 | $186.5M |
| 2035 | $155.4M |
The District has said it structures bond sales to match the shorter life of items like technology and buses. Its own records show every new school building bond sold since 2014 carries a final payment date about 30 years out, including the sales that funded the 2018 program's technology update, new buses, and furniture.
| Building bond series | Amount | Final payment | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 2019 (building and refunding) | $265.4M | 2049 | 30 years |
| Series 2020 (building and refunding) | $101.7M | 2050 | 30 years |
| Series 2021 (building and refunding) | $182.2M | 2051 | 30 years |
| Series 2021 (building) | $83.2M | 2051 | 30 years |
| Series 2022 (building) | $140.1M | 2052 | 30 years |
| Series 2022 (building, taxable) | $42.3M | 2052 | 30 years |
| Series 2023 (building and refunding) | $135.5M | 2053 | 30 years |
| Series 2024 (building and refunding) | $82.0M | 2054 | 30 years |
A 30-year final maturity does not by itself show which dollars paid for which items, so we checked the yearly repayment schedule of each sale on EMMA. Of $1.03 billion in these building bonds sold from 2019 to 2024, only 14.7% of the principal was scheduled to be repaid within 5 years, and 31.7% within 10 years. The average dollar was borrowed for 12 to 19 years. Unless technology and buses were a small slice of each sale and were matched to those early payments, a Chromebook that lasts five years may still be on the tax bill well over a decade later. The District should show which series and maturities paid for them.
The 2024 bond would have stacked $1.1 billion on top of these payments. In the District's own words, today's refinancing is making room for the next one. Before voters decide, the District should show the debt tax rate year by year with and without the new bond, so everyone can see what the rate would fall to if we simply let the old bonds pay off.
Sources: Frisco ISD 2026-27 Budget Workshop #3 (May 7, 2026), debt service fund budget notes; Bond Program and Debt Presentation by the District's financial advisor (March 9, 2026), refinancing and defeasance history; Frisco ISD adopted budgets 2023-24 to 2026-27, debt service; Series 2026 Official Statement, Appendix A, debt service schedule; Frisco ISD FY2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Note 7 (bond series, amounts, and maturities); MSRB EMMA issuer listing and security-level maturity schedules for Frisco ISD (Series 2019 through 2024, including the 2022 taxable series; some sales combine building and refunding bonds); Frisco ISD 2018 bond program project list.
Frisco ISD paid Lone Star Furnishings LLC about $47.2 million from FY2014 through FY2026, 96% of it from bond-funded capital projects, peaking at $11.1 million in FY2023.
| Fiscal year | General Fund | Capital Projects (bonds) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2014 to FY2020 | $1.24M | $12.40M | $13.64M |
| FY2021 | $0.12M | $5.09M | $5.21M |
| FY2022 | $0.20M | $8.56M | $8.76M |
| FY2023 | $0.13M | $10.95M | $11.08M |
| FY2024 | $0.01M | $8.10M | $8.11M |
| FY2025 | $0.12M | $0.23M | $0.34M |
| FY2026 | $0.03M | $0.00M | $0.03M |
| Total | $1.86M | $45.31M | $47.17M |
Texas law (Local Government Code chapter 176) requires a superintendent to disclose when a family member earns income from a District vendor. Public profiles indicate the superintendent's spouse has worked for this vendor since at least January 2025, while the District continued to pay it. As of October 8, 2026, the District's posted conflict of interest disclosures include no filing from the vendor or any District officer.
Before voters approve new bond money, much of which has historically gone to furniture, the District should confirm every required disclosure is on file.
Sources: Frisco ISD check registers, FY2014 to FY2026, General Fund and Capital Projects tabs, vendor 16611 (line items only); Frisco ISD Disclosures / Conflict of Interest page, reviewed October 8, 2026; Texas Local Government Code chapter 176.
The District's operating budget has been held nearly flat, but bond payments keep climbing while the number of students shrinks. Each remaining student now carries more debt.
| School year | Debt service | Cost per student |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | $176.3M | $13,923 |
| 2024-25 | $179.3M | $14,424 |
| 2025-26 | $198.4M | $15,414 |
| 2026-27 | $201.2M | $15,789 |
| Change | up 14% | up 13% |
Sources: Frisco ISD adopted budgets, All Funds summary, 2023-24 through 2026-27. Enrollment: NCES Digest of Education Statistics, Table 215.30 (fall 2021), and state enrollment data via the Texas Tribune Schools Explorer (2026).
Routine upkeep should come from the operating budget, not decades of debt. Frisco ISD cut its maintenance budget for 2026-27 and sets aside almost nothing for capital repairs from operations. That leaves bonds as the default for roofs, air conditioning, and building systems.
Source: Frisco ISD 2026-27 adopted budget, General Fund summary.
Frisco ISD has held its debt rate at exactly 27 cents per $100 since 2018. Districts its size show that rate can come down. Fort Worth ISD cut its debt rate from 27.55 cents to 24.22 cents for 2025-26.
| District | Students (fall 2021) | 2025-26 total rate | Debt (I&S) rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frisco ISD | 65,825 | $1.0194 | $0.2700 |
| Conroe ISD | 67,761 | $0.9496 | $0.2800 |
| Aldine ISD | 61,633 | $1.0340 | $0.3025 |
| North East ISD | 59,830 | $0.9822 | $0.3000 |
| Fort Worth ISD | 74,850 | $1.0291 | $0.2422 |
| Klein ISD | 53,294 | $1.0119 | not listed |
| Fort Bend ISD | 77,545 | $1.0569 | not listed |
A flat rate is not a flat bill. Frisco ISD reports the average home value rose from $551,246 to $565,084 for 2026, so the unchanged rate raised that homeowner's school tax bill by $141.
Sources: NCES Table 215.30 (enrollment); adopted 2025-26 tax rates published by each district or Community Impact; Fort Worth ISD adopted tax rate history; Frisco ISD 2026 tax rate announcement. Fort Bend's rate includes a temporary 7 cent disaster increase.
The 2027 Bond Committee has 100 members. Only 25 seats were open to residents who applied, and 99 people applied for them. The Board and District leadership chose 80 of the 100 members, including 20 District employees.
| Chosen by | Seats |
|---|---|
| Board of Trustees, 5 each | 35 |
| District leadership, from resident applications | 25 |
| District leadership, District staff | 20 |
| High school students, approved by principals | 12 |
| PTA council, Frisco Education Foundation, Frisco Chamber | 8 |
Source: Frisco ISD Deputy Superintendent of Business and Operations, written response to a resident inquiry, October 6, 2026.
Before anyone votes, Frisco ISD should publish the projected Interest and Sinking tax rate, year by year, two ways:
If the first line falls after 2034 and the second stays flat, the bond costs taxpayers real money compared to letting old debt pay off. Voters deserve to see both lines side by side.
This effort started with one Frisco resident reading the District's own documents. If these numbers concern you, get updates, share this page, and bring your questions to Board meetings during public comment.
Get email updates Frisco ISD Board meetingsGet the full spreadsheet: Frisco ISD and 15 comparison districts, 2015-16 to 2025-26, with 24 measures covering enrollment, demographics, staffing, superintendent and teacher pay, and actual spending by category. Each sheet includes the peer median, the regional median, and Frisco's rank, calculated with live formulas so you can check or change anything.
All figures come from Texas Education Agency public files. Dollar figures marked 2026 $ are adjusted for inflation.
Check every figure yourself.