Bond Election 2026

The Texas Legislature does not provide community colleges with funding for building projects. Community colleges have to rely on bonds approved by taxpayers or private founders in order to afford construction or renovation of buildings.

Registered voters who live within the Temple city boundaries or the Temple Independent School District boundaries are eligible to vote in this election.

Yes, the deadline to register to vote in the May election is April 2, 2026. You may register to vote at https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/reqvr.shtml.

The current tax rate is $0.2017 per $100 of assessed value. If this bond is passed, residents can expect their property taxes to increase by $0.03 per $100 assessed value.

Taxpayer impact (less 20% homestead exemption offered by TC)

This would be approximately $2 per month for $100,000 homestead appraised value, or $4.40 per month for an average homestead appraised value of $220,169 (2025).

Taxpayers 65 years of age and older who have applied for and received the Age 65 Freeze on their homestead will NOT pay any additional college taxes on their homes above the frozen level if the election is successful (unless significant improvements are made to the homestead).

Temple College had its last bond election in 2021. This bond election funded was phase one of the 10-year plan. It included a Main Building that would include all of student services, conference area, boardroom, classes, computer labs, and more.

The new Health Sciences building and renovation will increase Temple College's ability to open enrollment for more students in the health field with modern technology.

The Workforce and Visual Arts building includes new courses and modern technology for today's local job market.

Also included was a new Campus Service Center to house the campus maintenance team, purchasing/receiving team, and offer cover for Temple College buses and equipment.

No. Temple College can legally only spend money from the bond to pay for the construction of the buildings, renovations, additions, demolition, etc. The college cannot use the money for any maintenance and operating expenses such as salaries.

For more information about the bond, write Bond2026@templecollege.edu. For media inquiries please contact Dr. Christy Ponce at Christy.Ponce@templecollege.edu.

In 2021, the Temple College District passed a $124.9 million bond for construction of 4 buildings as phase one of a 10 year master plan. It was authorized to go up five cents per $100 of assessed value. Due to the city's growth, it went up only 2 cents. Here is a list of those buildings and the purpose of each building.

 This four-story, 115,000 square foot building, positioned along the future IH-14 corridor, is the new front door to Temple College where faculty and staff welcome residents, students, and visitors. This structure provides a single location for comprehensive student services, a conference center, classrooms, offices, and much more.

The first floor features a student enrollment services center and a testing center that allows students to inquire, apply, test, and enroll in one location. The first floor features a large conference space capable of hosting up to 650 guests for large college and community events. This space includes a terrace overlooking the new quad that provides a green space for students to relax, play, and study.

Twenty-two classrooms and three computer labs provides spaces for students to learn. A new Student Success Center on the third floor provides tutoring and academic support for students. Also featured on the third floor is the University Center, which houses advisors and faculty members from Texas A&M University Central Texas, and provides students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree on the Temple College campus. The University Center will include master’s and doctoral degrees in the future.

This building also features faculty and administrative offices, a board room, conference rooms and terraces on the third and fourth floors as well as a coffee bar and study space on the second floor.

 Located across the street from the VA Hospital, this 71,000 square foot building anchors the northern edge of campus and serves as the new home for the visual arts program and workforce development center.

The first floor features the Michael Donahue Art Gallery. The adjacent lobby, south lawn, and patio provide space for the college to host the community and showcase exhibits featured in the gallery. Also featured on the first floor are ceramics, woodworking, and 3D art studios for student learning. Opposite the visual arts spaces are four large, high-bay workforce laboratories that serve as space for students to obtain industry-recognized credentials in subjects ranging across construction trades, logistics, advanced manufacturing, and robotics. The high bay labs are supported by adjacent computer labs where students can complete classroom work and earn credentials in computer aided drafting and design.

The second floor features additional visual arts learning spaces, including painting, drawing, and photography studios as well as a graphics design computer lab. It also features a corporate training room and community learning room capable of hosting everything from an industry training luncheon to a mommy-and-me cookie decorating class.

Throughout the building are offices for visual arts and workforce faculty as well as general classrooms, computer labs, conference rooms, and a variety of support and auxiliary spaces.

Located on the east-side of campus, adjacent to the existing Health Sciences Center, this four-story 70,000 square foot building, slated to open June 2026, will provide space for the college to expand its health science programs and meet the needs of our local employers.

The first floor will feature a sonography clinic, where community members volunteer to receive scans from students in the diagnostic medical sonography program. The second floor will feature seven large classrooms to provide much needed lecture spaces. The third floor will feature a nursing simulation center, complete with a task-trainer lab, two simulation bays, and a variety of debrief, conference and office spaces to facilitate the hands-on learning for healthcare professionals. The fourth floor will provide open spaces for students and offices for faculty.

The renovation of the Health Science Center was focused on modernizing and expanding the dental clinic and surgical technology simulation suite. The dental clinic serves as educational space for the College’s dental hygiene program, and provides no-cost dental cleaning and x-ray services for community members. The renovation of the clinic replaced the twelve dental operatories (chairs and support equipment) and x-ray machines, and added four new operatories. The renovation to the surgical technology suite updated the operating room and support spaces. It has also organized the flow of the decontamination, clean processing, and scrub rooms to match what students will experience in modern hospital settings.

Located on the east side of campus, this three-building 17,500 square foot complex features an office building, complete with offices, meeting spaces, long-term record storage, and a locker room for the College’s Physical Plant and Purchasing and Receiving departments. It also features a shop building and covered vehicle storage to provide a secure home for the college’s buses and equipment.