Pilot Point ISD Bond: What Happens After the $295M Plan Failed
Updated November 2, 2026.
The Pilot Point ISD bond failed, and nothing has replaced it yet. On May 2, 2026, voters rejected Proposition A, a $295 million plan for a new high school, a second elementary school and districtwide repairs, by 845 votes to 539 in the official canvass (Pilot Point ISD board minutes). Since then the board has talked about trying again in May 2027 or later, but it has not called a new election. Enrollment keeps climbing, reaching 1,837 students in October, and since mid-October the district has been run by an acting superintendent: Kevin Wilson, who led Howe ISD in Grayson County for 19 years.
This guide explains what was in the failed plan, what it would have cost on a tax bill, how close the schools are to running out of room, and what to watch before the next vote. Pilot Point is in Denton County, just south of the Grayson County line. For the bigger picture of the town’s new neighborhoods, start with our Pilot Point TX growth guide.
Pilot Point ISD bond at a glance
- Result: Proposition A failed 845 to 539, with 1,384 votes cast, according to the canvass the board adopted in May (board minutes). Election-night coverage reported 842 votes against (The Post-Signal); the canvass is the official count.
- Turnout: the superintendent called it a record. With 6,811 registered voters in the district, 1,384 ballots works out to about 20% turnout (The Post-Signal).
- What it would have built: a $192.6 million first phase of a new high school, a $76.5 million elementary school and $25.9 million in renovations (NBC 5).
- Tax impact: the debt-service (I&S) rate would have gone from about $0.20 to $0.50 per $100 of value (The Post-Signal).
- Enrollment now: 1,837 students on October 14, 2026, up from 1,754 at the end of last school year (The Post-Signal).
- Next bond: none called. The board discussed May 2027 or a later election at a September workshop and agreed to bring back a citizen committee (The Post-Signal).
- Leadership: Superintendent Dr. Shannon Fuller is on paid administrative leave while an outside investigator reviews a complaint. Kevin Wilson is acting superintendent (WFAA).
What the $295 million bond would have paid for
The district called Proposition A a growth bond. Fuller explained in February that Pilot Point ISD did not yet have the tax base to sell all $295 million at once. It would have sold the bonds in pieces over about 10 years as new homes and businesses raised property values (The Post-Signal).
| Project | Cost | What the district said |
|---|---|---|
| New high school, Phase 1 | $192.6 million | Room for about 1,000 to 1,100 students, new career and technical classrooms for culinary, construction and health sciences, and two gyms. Projected to open by fall 2029. Phase 2 would need a future bond. |
| New elementary school | $76.5 million | A second elementary with classrooms, a library and a cafeteria. Projected to open in about five years, depending on bond capacity. |
| Renovations and infrastructure | $25.9 million | Work at every campus, including updating middle school space for intermediate grades, plumbing and electrical upgrades, and fixes to aging buildings. |
Sources: NBC 5 and The Post-Signal. The new high school would have gone on the Foutch Road property, which the district bought with its $38.4 million bond in 2021. The current high school would then have been converted into the middle school, which Fuller described as a building already “middle-school sized.” Students who now ride a bus to Denton for some career courses could have taken them on campus (The Post-Signal).
What it would have cost a homeowner
District CFO Brittany Floyd said the bond would have raised the debt-service part of the tax rate from about $0.20 to $0.50 per $100 of taxable value (The Post-Signal). That $0.30 difference is the number to work with. Here is the math at the full increase, before any homestead exemptions. These are our examples, not district figures.
| Taxable value | Extra per year at +$0.30 per $100 |
|---|---|
| $250,000 | $750 |
| $350,000 | $1,050 |
| $450,000 | $1,350 |
Your actual bill depends on your exemptions and on how quickly the district would have sold the bonds. For now, the 2026–27 rate the board adopted on September 9 is $0.9179 per $100: $0.7179 for maintenance and operations plus $0.20 for debt service. The board agenda described that as an effective decrease of about 2% (The Post-Signal). If you are buying in one of Pilot Point’s new neighborhoods, remember that school taxes sit on top of any PID assessment. Our Bryson Ranch Pilot Point guide shows how those add up on one community’s bill.
How fast Pilot Point ISD is growing
Enrollment has gone up for five straight years. The district counted a record 1,727 students in October 2025 (The Post-Signal), 1,839 on September 8, 2026 (The Post-Signal) and 1,837 on October 14, 2026 (The Post-Signal).
The bigger numbers are still ahead. A demographic study by School District Solutions, presented in November 2025, counted at least 29,000 single-family lots planned in the area. It projected 276 to 472 more students within three years, 457 to 965 within five years and 1,100 to 3,562 within 10 years, depending on how fast homes get built (The Post-Signal). In February the superintendent cited the study’s moderate path: from about 1,758 students then to 2,430 in 2031 and 4,275 by the 2035–36 school year (The Post-Signal).
The demographer also compared growth over the previous three years: 13.1% in Pilot Point ISD, against 44% in Aubrey, 45.3% in Prosper and 58.5% in Celina. “You all are teeing up to follow the same path,” he told trustees, noting that Prosper went from about 1,700 or 1,800 students to 4,700 in a decade (The Post-Signal).
When each campus runs out of room
The district plans around functional capacity, which means spaces being used the way they were designed. In February the superintendent said the elementary school would start hitting that limit in the 2026–27 school year and get tight within two to three years. The middle school would reach it around 2029–30 and the high school around 2031–32. The Early Childhood Center has a little room, but it is “very quickly becoming full” (The Post-Signal). Every one of those dates is before the new high school could have opened, even if the bond had passed.
Growth is also changing who is in the classroom. In October the district reported 528 emergent bilingual students, about 29% of enrollment, and approved waivers for seven teachers not yet certified in bilingual education while it pays for teachers to earn the certification (The Post-Signal). District leaders have also said they are working to raise its state accountability grade from a C to a B (The Post-Signal).
Where the next bond stands
On September 9, 2026, the board held a workshop on “bond reflection and planning.” The minutes say no action was taken. Trustees discussed November 2026, May 2027 and a later election as possible dates (board minutes). November is no longer possible: Texas requires a bond election to be ordered at least 78 days ahead, so the deadline for the November 3, 2026 ballot passed in August. That leaves May 1, 2027 as the earliest realistic date, and the board would have to order that election by about February 12, 2027.
VLK Architects, the firm that helped plan the district’s successful 2021 bond, pitched the board on helping again. VLK recommended a new citizen committee that includes residents who supported the bond and residents who opposed it, across a range of backgrounds, and the board agreed. Board President Renee Polk warned that if the district tries again and has “the same type of failure” in the community, it risks losing support for future bonds too (The Post-Signal). VLK also suggested newsletters, a video series, facility webpages, building tours and a “Did You Know” campaign to explain the district’s needs.
The district’s old bond website address no longer shows district content. For current information, use the district’s own site at pilotpointisd.com and its board meeting page instead.
New leadership while the plan is on hold
In mid-October the district’s two top leaders went on paid leave. On October 13, Superintendent Fuller placed Police Chief Eric Dortch on paid leave. Dortch then filed a complaint, and on October 14 the board placed Fuller on paid leave. The board hired attorney Scott Cummings to run an independent investigation, said it “has not made any findings,” and called the leave a step taken out of an abundance of caution. Dee Carter is acting police chief (WFAA). The board has not said what the complaint involves.
Kevin Wilson’s acting superintendent agreement was approved at a special meeting on Monday, October 19 (The Post-Signal). Grayson County readers know the name. Wilson spent 25 years in Howe ISD, was its superintendent from 2007 until he retired in December 2025, and handed the job to Ritchie Bowling (KXII). “I’ve got 36 years’ experience in public education,” he told the Pilot Point board. For more on the district he led, see our Howe ISD guide.
For families, the practical effect is that bond planning now runs through an interim leader while an investigation is pending. Expect the timing of a committee, a new demographic update or a May 2027 election to depend on how the board settles its leadership.
What this means if you are moving to Pilot Point
- Check your address, not the town name. Centurion American lists both Celina ISD and Pilot Point ISD for Creekview, so homes in the same community can feed different districts (Centurion American). Confirm the attendance zone with the district before you sign.
- Ask the campus about space. When you tour, ask about class sizes, portable buildings and whether your child’s grade is projected to be over capacity next year.
- Budget for a possible tax change. If a future bond looks like the last one, the debt-service rate could rise by as much as $0.30 per $100. Run the numbers on your expected taxable value now.
- Watch the new neighborhoods. Bryson Ranch alone is planned for more than 3,000 homes, and its developer told KTEN it expects residents there by the end of 2027 (see our Bryson Ranch guide).
- Go to a board meeting. The board meets at the district office, 829 S. Harrison Street. The next meetings on the district’s calendar are Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at 5 pm and Monday, December 7, 2026 (Pilot Point ISD).
How Gunter compares
Gunter ISD, just across the county line, is in a similar spot without a failed vote behind it. Its November newsletter says a 65-member Bond Advisory Committee is still meeting to plan facilities ahead of growth, because “we cannot wait until our classrooms are overflowing to begin planning” (Gunter ISD). Gunter ISD has also dropped one planned high school site. Our Gunter ISD new high school guide explains why. Both districts face the same math: thousands of approved lots, a small current tax base and voters who will be asked to pay first. For a side-by-side look at every district near the county line, see our Grayson County school districts parent guide.
Pilot Point ISD bond FAQ
Did the Pilot Point ISD bond pass?
No. Proposition A for $295 million failed on May 2, 2026, with 539 votes for and 845 against in the official canvass (board minutes).
Will there be another Pilot Point ISD bond election?
Possibly, but none has been called. At its September 2026 workshop the board discussed May 2027 or a later date and agreed to form a new citizen committee (The Post-Signal). For May 1, 2027, the board would have to order the election by about February 12, 2027.
What is the Pilot Point ISD tax rate for 2026?
$0.9179 per $100 of value for 2026–27: $0.7179 for maintenance and operations and $0.20 for debt service (The Post-Signal).
How many students does Pilot Point ISD have?
1,837 as of October 14, 2026 (The Post-Signal). A 2025 demographic study projected 1,100 to 3,562 more students within 10 years (The Post-Signal).
Who is running Pilot Point ISD right now?
Kevin Wilson, the retired Howe ISD superintendent, is acting superintendent while Superintendent Dr. Shannon Fuller is on paid administrative leave during an outside investigation. The board says it has made no findings (WFAA).
Header photos: the superintendent presenting enrollment projections (Abigail Bardwell / The Post-Signal) and a concept high school rendering (Justine Scott / The Post-Signal).
