There’s no denying that education is one of the most important pillars of civilization. The time, money, and effort we invest in teaching young people today will pay dividends in the years and decades to come.
However, as the recent bond election results show, the desperately needed funding to support and improve school district infrastructure and facilities aren’t always guaranteed.
Increasing frugality among voters means that sometimes, school districts are left with ever thinner budgets to work with.
However, families in the community still need to have safe, functional, quality schools and educational facilities. So, let’s take a closer look at how to make that happen when you just don’t have the funds you hoped to get.
Why School Districts Are Choosing Owner Insite
If there’s one universal truth when it comes to construction, renovation, and facility maintenance, it’s that projects with better project management are far more likely to come in on time and under budget.
The better the project controls for any construction project are, the better the productivity is likely to be, and the more proactive project teams are, the better equipped they are to find innovative solutions to problems and challenges.
School districts are increasingly discovering that the best way to keep projects on track is to take a hands-on role in the construction management process. Whether it’s asking the right questions or raising a red flag when something seems wrong, there’s simply no better way to ensure that any construction project is a success. We talk more about how we help K-12 school districts here.
When funding is tight, success usually means getting more done with less, and that’s where Owner Insite gives school districts the tools, they need to be hands-on.
With easy-to-read and understand at-a-glance project data available to the school district and the project team, it’s easier to collaborate, share information and make critical decisions in the shortest possible time frame.
Unlike other project management tools that might be hard to navigate, Owner Insite also puts financial data and project timelines at the very top of everyone’s to-do lists. So, there’s no need to dig through mountains of documents and data to find out what you need to know.
Recent Bond Election Data
Perhaps the best way to analyze trends in bond elections is to review bond election data. Fortunately, the Texas government posts all the bond election data for the state, and you can access it here.
However, if you’d rather not crunch all the numbers yourself, we’ve broken down some important information for you for the 2022 and 2023 bond elections.
First, there’s the total volume of funding requested during bond elections. In the whole of 2022, the amount requested by school districts throughout Texas was $28,210,727,966.00. So far in 2023, it’s been $21,733,347,707.00. Since we’re only halfway through the year, it’s reasonable to assume that there will be significantly more funding requests this year than last year.
The good news is that the bond requests that are carried or approved seem to have increased this year, with 87.16% carried this year as opposed to 76.32% last year. Of course, we won’t know if those percentages hold until the end of the year, but it’s fair to assume that there’s more spending on school construction this year than last year.
Past Performance A Big Factor
One of the unavoidable truths that any business, government organization or school district needs to accept is that past performance is always a factor in whether these kinds of funding requests are approved or defeated.
If your school district consistently completes projects on time and under budget, you can refer to that when creating your bond application package, you’re far more likely to succeed.
Like any shareholders and investors, the people who decide bond election results want to bet on a dependable horse. They want to be sure that the money they allocate will be spent responsibly and that they will get their money’s worth from each project.
School districts that use construction management software that’s designed for owners – like Owner Insite – have better control and tend to deliver better results.
So, if you want to improve your chances of having your funding requests carried in the next bond election, consider making the switch now, and start building the case for your organization based on results. Contact the Owner Insite Team to learn more about how we can help you manage every school construction, renovation, or maintenance project better.
Call 888-336-3393 or email us at sales@owner-insite.com
