By Houston voters will have the opportunity to vote on Houston ISD’s 2024 bond proposal in the general election on Nov. 5, 2024. The district has recognized the structural, safety, and capacity inadequacies of its campuses and seeks $4.4 billion to address these issues. If approved, the bond would not increase taxes.
This proposed bond is designed to meet the mandates of House Bill 3 to better secure schools and classrooms, improve air and water quality, and expand campuses to reduce overcrowding.
With this bond, HISD plans to renovate and completely rebuild campuses that require improvements and repairs to meet modern infrastructure standards as well as enhancing security infrastructure and technology at every campus. According to district officials, these renovations would utilize approximately half of the bond budget. Via audit, the district has identified 43 schools that could benefit from renovations, including improvements in mechanical, electrical, or plumbing systems.
HISD has 273 campuses, and about 32% of the school spaces are over 50 years old and will not meet projected future standards. To address this problem, HISD plans to renovate and rebuild campuses, prioritizing schools with the most urgent structural issues and highest levels of utilization. HVAC systems on 188 campuses would be updated or tested to ensure that every campus meets current environmental standards.
District officials have said that about 65 schools are expected to exceed capacity by 2030. Utilizing the bond, the district plans to expand some campuses to accommodate this larger number of students.This plan includes allocating $1.07 billion to be used to build three new Career and Technical Education Centers in the West, Central, and South divisions and to increase pre-kindergarten capacity in neighborhoods with projected population growth throughout the district.
In addition, 17 campuses, the majority of which are elementary schools, would be rebuilt completely. The rebuilt schools would be improved and expanded to adhere to state standards.
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