Houston ISD Board Unanimously Votes for $4.4 Billion School Bond, Largest Ever

The Texan, Mary Elise Cosgray, Aug 9, 2024

In November, voters will be faced with the largest school bond in Texas history, a $4.4 billion bond proposal unanimously approved by Houston Independent School District (ISD) board members.

The bond proposal is nearly $900 million more than Texas’ second largest, Dallas ISD’s 2020 bond.

On August 8 Houston ISD held a Special Board Meeting, during which board members discussed the $4.4 billion package before voting on it. The debated bond includes projects such as security upgrades, air conditioning improvements, lead abatements, and “full rebuild and expansion” for some schools.

“I would like to first express my delight in the latest news regarding student achievement, and would like to thank the families, teachers, and staff who have helped make our outstanding student success possible,” Houston ISD Trustee Bridget Wade said during the meeting.

“With that, I stand before you in full support of the bond proposal before you tonight. This bond package brings important, long overdue improvements, and resources to our students, teachers, neighborhoods, communities, and Houston at large. I look forward to checking the HISD box as a yes on the November ballot,” Wade concluded.

Houston ISD's local debt rose to $2.9 billion in Fiscal Year 2023, according to the Bond Review Board's searchable debt database.

For the 2023-2024 school year, the Texas Education Agency reported that Houston ISD's student enrollment totaled 184,109.

Given its existing debt and its current student enrollment, the district right now owes $15,579 for every child enrolled.

If chosen by voters in November, the district's $4.4 billion proposal would add almost $24,000 in new debt per student enrolled.

Trustee Myrna Guidry shared her thoughts on the bond: “It grieves my spirit to be the first trustee to stand up here and suggest no to this bond. I have real concerns … First of all, I don’t trust that the identified campuses will be fulfilled. Because there are no checks and balances.”

“Please don’t forget that this board did away with the financial checks and balances on the administration. There is none. Lastly, I have a concern about tax. Let’s be real, there will be a tax increase. How do you get $4 billion dollars and not increase taxes?” Guidry questioned.

Houston ISD’s latest bond election was in 2012 over a package totaling $1.89 billion designated for the maintenance and repair of 40 schools across the district.

Rolando Martinez, member of the Houston ISD Board of Managers, commented, “Just like there was in the last bond, we will have an oversight committee. In addition to that, we have the board audit committee.”

“We have a lot of kids today whose parents went to school in the same buildings. And for many of them, it’s their same grandparents who went to their school in temporary buildings that have now been there for 40 years,” Martinez said.

Following the comments, the board voted in favor of placing the $4.4 bond on the November ballot in a unanimous 9 to 0 decision.

James Quintero, director of the Taxpayer Protector Project at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, offered his perspective to The Texan.

“Over a 10-year period, the district's student population has noticeably declined. According to the Texas Education Agency, the district's student enrollment was 215,225 in the 2014-15 school year. By the 2023-24 school year, its enrollment had declined to 184,109, which means the district shrank by 14.5% over the last decade.”

"Voters should question why a shrinking school district needs such a radical increase in government debt,” Quintero said.

"Houston ISD already owes more than $15,000 for every student enrolled. Now it's proposing to borrow another $24,000 for each student in its care, which will skyrocket its debt and put taxpayers in a difficult position.”