Since the beginning of the year several bond elections have failed here in Central Texas.
The debate over Round Rock school bonds was intense, a bond election in Liberty Hill failed last weekend and this weekend the Thrall school district is asking voters to head back to the polls for the second bond election this year.
The small school district of Thrall is in financial crisis.
"We are coming to a point where we can't continue to run the district at the level our students are required by the state, to meet the demand of the state requirements," Thrall Superintendent Keith Brown said.
In February, only one part of a three-part bond election passed.
Now the district, made up of fewer than 600 students, is asking local taxpayers to head back for another round of bond elections.
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School bonds
About one-third of all school bond packages sent to voters this year have failed.
 
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This time supporters took a different approach by putting up signs around town. The district wants to refund existing debt. It also needs bond money for repairs like energy-efficient lighting and air conditioners for old systems that are too costly to fix.
"They wanted to understand what we were doing better that we needed to educate them better," Brown said.
Voter ignorance is just one common reason the Texas Association of School Boards says school bond elections are failing to pass.
"They attribute it not only to the education factor but also to ... forcing voters to decide everything in one item," Cathy Douglas of TASB said.
Thrall learned it's lesson here too.
"Part of the feedback that we received that our ag feeding facility was kind of an issue. So, we separated that out on it's own," Brown said.
But Thrall isn't the only district that's had to go back to the drawing board.
So far this year statewide, there have been 47 bond elections held. Of those, 34 percent failed. The failures included bonds for refunding and new projects.
According to the Municipal Advisory Council, that percentage is more than double the 15 percent that failed during the same time last year.
"And the needs were lost in the wants and we felt like we needed to stop that," Mike East of Save our Taxpayers said.
Last weekend Liberty Hill voters said no to a $65 million bond that included an elementary school, a baseball field, tennis courts and dressing rooms.
The approximately 2,000-student district said it has to do with growth. One thousand more students are expected to enter the district in the next three years.
"We have dressing rooms that were designed for about 30 maximum. Now [we] have about 70 to 75 people dressing in them," Liberty Hill Superintendent Dean Andrews said.
The anti-bond organization, Save our Taxpayers, said most of the bond items were extracurricular.
"We're paying over $2 a gallon for gasoline, the Dr Pepper that cost you 89 cents last year is now a $1.29, the gallon of milk that was a $1.99 is now $2.79. So, we are feeling the crunch," East said.
Those against the bond say it's hard to pay for extras at school when they're living pay check to pay check at home, East said.
There was heated debate in Round Rock ISD before the March 5 election.
"Taxpayers are pushing back, they are beginning to say no," Peggy Venable of Americans for Prosperity said.
A football stadium that cost more than taxpayers approved was a hot button when it came time to vote on the $349 million bond.
"It was just such a massive bond initiative, and rather than being given an option to vote for aspects of the bond initiative, it looks like they piled it all into one," Venable said.
Since the bond election the superintendent has resigned and two new board members were elected. Once the district has a chance to regroup from this mess, taxpayers can expect yet another bond.
As for the residents in Thrall, three bond proposals worth roughly $1.5 million are on the ballot.
