Observers say that a lack of transparency, distrust doomed Round Rock bond,

As the Round Rock school district handles fallout from voters rejecting a $572 million school bond package Saturday, a clearer picture is emerging on why all three bond propositions failed.

Some of those actively involved in the election cited a lack of district transparency, mistrust of the district’s leadership and an overly aggressive promotion for the bond as reasons for the lack of support for the propositions.

Unofficial final results for the school district, which stretches northwest from Travis County into Williamson County, show an 11 percent turnout for the election. Williamson County voters narrowly favored Propositions 1 and 2, but rejected Proposition 3. In Travis County, strong voter opposition — more than two-thirds overall voted against all three propositions — led to the bond package failing.

Voting results by precinct show support for the bond waned in the western side of the school district. Catherine Hanna, chairwoman of the pro-bond Classrooms for Kids committee, said strong opposition from the Travis County Taxpayers Union and other anti-bond groups with a strong presence in Travis County could have tipped the scales significantly in that area.

Hanna also cited what she called misinformation disseminated online and in literature from groups about the veracity of school district information on the bond. “It’s hard to fight things that are represented as facts that are not facts,” she said.

Data also show wealthier precincts in Williamson County tended to vote against all three propositions, including Precinct 172, which includes the Sendero Springs neighborhood. It has a median home value of $399,000, while the school district’s median home value as of April is $291,250.

Voters in Precinct 151, which hosts homes for sale in the range of $360,000 to $390,000, also voted overwhelmingly against the bond.

Terri Romere, who resigned as a Round Rock school board trustee in January, said a lack of voter trust in the board and other district leadership caused the bond to fail. “They’re out of touch with their constit- Travis County voters in the Round Rock school district largely opposed Propositions 1 and 2, which would have funded construction of a new high school and elementary school, as well as upgrades at numerous campuses. Results are not shown for Proposition 3, a measure to fund athletic facilities that drew more widespread opposition.