For more than a decade, Dallas ISD has undertaken one of the boldest reformations of any major public school district in the United States.

During that time, the district has implemented and refined a program that measures and rewards teacher and principal performance based on student outcomes. It has vastly expanded its pre-kindergarten program to ensure students start school ahead of the curve. It has implemented a uniform curriculum in math and reading that eliminated a patchwork of pedagogy among schools. It has developed an enviable school choice program that gives parents a host of options for the type of school and instruction their children need.

The results are impressive. It has already become a model for urban districts in Texas. It should be a national model.

DISD is now retaining a huge percentage of its most qualified teachers and principals. It pays them handsomely. The best teachers can earn six-figure salaries. It has chipped away at the number of D and F rated schools. Just two of 233 schools are now rated as failing versus 24 two years ago. We believe that number will reach zero if the district remains committed to its uniform curriculum and teacher assessment program.

The district has substantially increased the number of A- and B-rated schools, doubling the number of A-rated schools to 60 in two years. DISD consistently has some of the highest-rated high schools in the country, from the School for the Talented and Gifted to Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School. These enviable magnets are too often overlooked as a point of pride for our city.

All of this is prelude to our recommendation on a difficult question. Should voters support DISD’s request for a $6.2 billion bond program?

This proposal is incredibly ambitious. In 2020, voters agreed to a $3.5 billion bond plan for the district. At the time, it was the largest bond program ever sought in state history.

Now, the district is seeking a much larger program that would touch every school in the district. And it comes with a 1-cent tax rate increase.

Our board carefully studied this proposal and considered its impact on students, on taxpayers, on DISD overall, on our city and the broader region.

After weighing the cost and benefits, we strongly encourage voters to cast their ballot in favor of all four propositions.

We believe doing so will elevate DISD’s reform program to a new level. It will reward the district for the hard work undertaken over the last decade. It will position the district to attract more families from across the region. It will improve the district’s economic diversity.

Most importantly, it will make Dallas a stronger city and serve the prosperity of everyone who lives here.

Considering cost

Like most taxpayers, we are deeply reluctant about any rate increase. It is important, though, to get the facts on the table about what a 1-cent rate increase represents for DISD.

First, the district has repeatedly lowered its tax rate since 2019, from $1.41 per $100 in valuation to less than 99 cents. The district already has the lowest tax rate among Dallas County’s 10 largest districts. The 1-cent rate increase would not change that.

Based on current legislation and anticipated growth in property values, the rate is projected to decline again, below its current amount, in the next two years.

The owner of a $500,000 home would see an additional monthly cost of less than $3. Seniors are exempt from the increase.

We encourage younger homeowners to think about the cost in terms of what it might mean for their bottom line. So many middle- and upper-middle-class Dallas families spend tens of thousands of dollars a year on private education, in part because they aren’t ready to give DISD a chance.

A big reason for that is the way so many DISD schools look from the outside, with too little regard for the quality of what is happening inside. This proposal might shift that thinking. And that could change the economics of making the choice to live in Dallas.

A young family would stand a much better chance of buying a home in the city if they didn’t have to factor in the price of private school.

The benefits

Let’s look at what the four propositions would do and why each deserves a “for” vote.

The first, Proposition A, is a $5.2 billion plan that would touch almost every school in DISD. It would provide funds for 26 replacement schools, eliminate every portable in the district, construct new playgrounds and courtyards, replace old furniture and labs and enhance security.

We have long argued that a city as prosperous as Dallas should not educate children in tin boxes or in buildings so decrepit we wouldn’t office in them. That’s not the sign of a great city. A great city has great schools to match its wealth.

This proposition alone would remake DISD for more than a generation. It would see our district become a national leader among urban schools for facilities.

Proposition B, at $144.7 million, would catch the district up on aging technology.

Proposition C is just smart money. It would provide $143.3 million to refinance an old debt to free up operating capital and lower costs over time.

Proposition D, at $26.3 million, would repair five swimming pools that are in terrible shape. DISD kids deserve pools that are as decent as those in the suburbs, and the cost here is modest versus the return.

For our kids, for our city

Ten years ago, we would not have supported this proposal. But DISD has earned our support through serious governance, deep reform and persistently improved results.

What’s more, the cost to each of us is so minimal relative to the benefit that voting against this bond would be penny wise and pound foolish. This actually stands to make all of Dallas wealthier by attracting more families to the city.

Like most districts, DISD has seen enrollment decline. But this region is growing. Dallas must compete for a share of those arriving.

With the passage of this proposal, we have that chance while serving our children so much the better. It will give them schools worthy of a great and prosperous city.

And we will serve our city, showcasing where our hearts and minds are: with our children.