Public schools are funded through federal, state and local sources. The state collects taxes and distributes funds to school districts for their general budgets to help pay for instructional materials, salaries and other general needs. A capital bond, however, is not funded through the state. Instead, it is voted on by community members within a school district and, if approved, collected locally. Those bond funds help pay for new schools or additions, major renovations, and other large projects within the school district. 

Schools are often economic drivers in communities and have been shown to impact a region's overall productivity, sustainability and sense of community. Bonds help school districts keep up with enrollment growth while replacing aging systems to further the life of existing facilities. 

McCleary was an effort to fully fund education and the state has made changes to how schools are funded in recent years. However, McCleary only addressed funding for basic education, and schools are still working to fund special education and other programs. Capital projects are not funded by the state and require local voters to approve bonds with a 60 percent supermajority.