Dallas ISD plans 26 new schools after voters approve historic bond

Leaders say the bond package approved Saturday will help replace aging schools and modernize classrooms.

Dallas ISD voters approved a $6.2 billion bond package Saturday, the largest school bond package in Texas history, clearing the way for new schools, major campus upgrades and the removal of portable classrooms across the district.

The plan includes the construction of 26 new replacement schools already identified by the district, along with key upgrades at campuses districtwide.

“Public schools are successful when the public champions them,” Dallas ISD Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde said. “This was a resounding, ‘We support Dallas ISD.’”

Elizalde said the bond reflects what the community asked for.

“It’s their bond. It’s their proposal. It’s their plan. Truly, our community’s plan,” Elizalde said.

Dallas ISD Trustee Lance Currie said the bond work will reach every school.

“It will ultimately touch every single campus in the district,” Currie said.

Currie spoke outside F.P. Caillet Elementary School, one of the campuses slated for a new building. He said the school was built in 1955 and no longer meets the needs of modern students and teachers.

“So the school behind me, F.P. Caillet, was built in 1955. It’s 71 years old,” Currie said. “There are several spaces in this school that simply don’t meet our modern needs.”

The bond will also eliminate all 700 portable buildings being used across the district.

District leaders pointed to previous bond projects and new buildings as examples of what updated facilities can mean for students and communities. Currie mentioned the new Marcus Elementary School, located not far from Caillet.

“It just had its first full year in its brand-new building, and in that year it jumped 21 points in one year in its academic scores,” Currie said. “And I’m sure the building is not all of that, great principals, great teachers and others, but it is a part of it.”

The massive construction plan comes as Dallas ISD finishes work on prior bond projects and faces rising costs.

“It plays a huge factor,” Elizalde said. “We want to be able to deliver everything we committed to and that we heard our constituents ask for.”

Elizalde said the district will move quickly to meet voters’ expectations and continue rebuilding trust through the work funded by the bond.

“I think it says we’re rebuilding the trust and that they’ve seen that we’ve been both able to do with the 2015 and 2020 bonds,” Elizalde said. “And I also think it says we support you when you deliver on the promises you make.”

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.