Dallas ISD graduate Virginia Spencer recalls Lincoln High School’s auditorium without lighting, microphones or a sound system.
Those conditions improved after the district’s historic $3 billion-plus bond in 2020. But officials say work remains. As the program wraps up, Dallas ISD is gathering feedback for a potential $6 billion bond to address remaining needs across 240 schools.
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A Dec. 18 board workshop will cap the district’s series of community meetings, with leaders presenting project recommendations for trustees’ review. No vote is planned, but the session will shape the final package.
The Education Lab
The district collected survey results at the meetings until Dec. 16. Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde told The Dallas Morning News editorial board the 2020 bond should finish within two years.
Texas funds public schools through local property taxes, state revenue, dedicated education funds and the “recapture” redistribution mechanism, according to Texas Policy Research.
But major construction, renovations, land, buses and technology require voter-approved bonds repaid with property taxes. “Every single dollar stays in Dallas ISD,” said Dallas ISD Chief Construction Officer Brent Alfred.
The 2020 bond funded over 200 renovations, 15 new campuses and 10 facilities, reducing Dallas ISD’s average building age from 51.7 years to 42.8 years, Elizalde said. The updated schools improved academically, lifting Dallas ISD to a B rating and reducing C- through F-rated schools.
Some schools saw enrollment bumps. “Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy is up [by] more than 200 students,” Elizalde said. “South Oak Cliff [High School]… more than 250 kids.”
At several trustee-led community meetings this month, staff and parents highlighted ongoing issues. Trustees urged residents to rank needs via the survey.
“We can’t get it all done, but we’re going to get a lot done,” trustee Byron Sanders said at the Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center.
Dallas ISD trustee Byron Sanders listens to a question from L.G. Pinkston Class of 1969 Alumni founder Clifford Sherman during a meeting about the district’s proposed 2026 bond program at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center on Dec. 10, 2025, in Dallas.
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
Planning began last year with internal talks in October 2024, the creation of an executive bond steering committee in February and a preliminary survey in March, launching months of engagement through pop-ups, surveys and input from over 100 committee members.
Trustees could finalize a bond plan in January for a possible May 2026 vote.
Potential propositions
District leaders say the bond is designed to modernize classrooms and invest in facilities and security that shape daily student life. Elizalde and Alfred have emphasized that the package balances urgent repairs with upgrades.
Proposition A, the proposal’s largest portion, would fund new buildings, major repairs, upgrades for safety and accessibility and improvements to playgrounds, transport and athletics.
Addressing deferred maintenance prevents shutdowns and maximizes learning time, district leaders said.
Proposition B tackles technology: devices, Wi‑Fi and systems essential for learning. Students can’t learn if the network or devices fail, Elizalde said.
“What we’re doing is we’re bringing our school district’s physical space up to speed with the worth of the community and the people themselves,” Sanders said.
Dallas ISD Chief Construction Officer Brent Alfred talks about the district’s proposed 2026 bond program during a meeting at Lincoln High School on Dec. 9, 2025, in Dallas.
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
Proposition C would refund certain debts to help manage the timing, cost and impact of borrowing for the bond, district leaders said. This helps prevent tax spikes as old debt is paid off. District leaders said projected household impacts will be shared once finalized.
Proposition D targets repairs for Dallas ISD’s five pool facilities, untouched in a decade, Alfred said. Despite a failed 2020 measure, the district partners with the YMCA and city of Dallas on swim and lifeguarding programs for students.
District staff call pool upkeep a safety issue. At a recent Sunset High School meeting in Oak Cliff, a swim coach said it’s a matter of federally mandated fairness and year-round access.
Community feedback
Parents, teachers and staff urged trustees to support several campuses and supported the bond even with a small tax increase.
At Sunset High, Melissa Esparza, whose son attends Leila P. Cowart Elementary, said the school “looks exactly the same” as when she graduated in 1999. “There needs to be an update,” she said.
Mary Lou Paras, with grandchildren at W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy, said the school still has its original wooden seats.
“Make sure that our schools, especially those marginalized, get a piece of the pie,” Paras said.
Melissa Esparza (center) speaks during a Dallas ISD Board of Trustees 2026 bond program meeting at Sunset High School in Dallas on Dec. 8, 2025.
Jason Janik / Special Contributor
Attendees at Lincoln praised improvements funded by the South Dallas high school’s $35 million bond investment. But Bridget Smith flagged the lack of major facility upgrades at Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, where she taught for nearly two decades.
Despite the school’s national accolades, Smith said students and teachers face cramped, outdated spaces: “often sit[ting] on the floor or stand[ing] during assemblies.”
Trustee Ed Turner called a new Irma Rangel campus one of his top priorities “as a girl dad.”
“If you call me and tell me something’s going wrong with your school… I am gonna make a call to the powers that be so that they can come fix it,” he said.
At the Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center, parents and district graduates advocated for improvements at Dr. L.G. Pinkston Sr. High School and the Harry Stone Montessori Academy.
Clifford Sherman, founder of the L.G. Pinkston Class of 1969 Alumni nonprofit, said Dallas ISD needs to expand Pinkston or create an additional building to address overcrowding.
Dallas ISD trustee Byron Sanders listens to a question from Harry Stone Montessori Academy parent Adriana Hernandez during a meeting about the district’s proposed 2026 bond program at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center on Dec. 10, 2025, in Dallas.
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
Adriana Hernandez, a Harry Stone parent and alumni, said the school’s lack of recent renovations poses risks for students and staff.
“I have three generations [of family] within Harry Stone,” she said. “We’ve been fighting for a long time.”
Looking ahead
Dallas ISD officials say the next bond will steady classrooms, modernize aging spaces and align facilities with family expectations.
They also stressed it’s not about money. Trustee Ben Mackey told Sunset attendees the district’s total tax rate has fallen annually since 2018–19, from about $1.41 to under $1.00 per $100 of valuation, even as bonds funded work.
With board meetings set for Jan. 8 and Jan. 20, trustees could review and finalize the bond proposal next month for a May 2026 election.
Ben Mackey speaks during a Dallas ISD Board of Trustees 2026 bond program meeting at Sunset High School in Dallas on Dec. 8, 2025.
Jason Janik / Special Contributor
That matters, because surveys showed a May election would be less crowded, cheaper to educate voters on and reduce construction inflation faster, Elizalde said.
But skeptics want clearer campus scopes and timelines the district can keep. Supporters argue roofs, HVAC, plumbing and overcrowding only get costlier with time.
The decision rests with voters.
“With a 2026 bond, we will get rid of every single portable [classroom] in this district, and every teacher will have their own classroom,” said David Bates, Dallas ISD’s chief of operations.
This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.