Officials said it is aimed at preparing for a future of rapid student population growth, which is expected to surge by nearly 72%, reaching approximately 67,400 students by 2034-35, according to Zonda Demographics.
At the heart of this growth is Fulshear, which Superintendent Roosevelt Nivens and city officials have called one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation.
Per demographic data, the growth is driven by 94 active building subdivisions, over 55,000 future lots in development, and new home construction in communities like Tamarron West in Fulshear and Candela and Austin Point in Richmond.
Zonda’s August presentation showed that five of the eight elementary schools projected to be over capacity by the 2025-26 school year are zoned to Fulshear High School. All four secondary campuses currently over capacity are located in the same area.
Jeffrey Wiley, former chief executive officer of the Fort Bend Economic Development Council, said the bond is vital to maintaining school quality.
“There’s this notion that we do excellence our here and that’s attracted master communities to build facilities,” he said. “But that cycle all stops if the schools go downhill.”
The breakdown
With over half of LCISD campuses expected to reach capacity within the next decade, the $1.99 billion bond’s largest component is a $1.9 billion proposal to fund several new schools, with two new elementary schools and three secondary schools proposed in Fulshear.
Chief Operations Officer Greg Buchanan said the proposal would also replace several of the district’s oldest campuses, including Terry High School, which, like many older campuses, cannot expand on its current site without adding stormwater detention basins to manage flood risks.
He said replacement would be the most cost-effective it cut costs on portable classrooms and provide long-term stability for the district’s future enrollment
The proposal also seeks to expand Leaman Junior High and Roberts Middle with 325 and 175 seats, respectively, as both schools have already surpassed their capacity as of the 2025-26 school year, per Zonda estimates.
Because rising land prices and rapid housing development slow land acquisitions, Nivens said the proposition also aims to create a “land bank” to start construction immediately after future bonds pass, slowing the impact of rising land costs and cutting about four years from project timelines.
With two technology-related propositions, Executive Director of Technology Chad Jones said the district needs a 31% increase in the student laptop inventory—adding 11,000 devices over four years—to ensure every student in grades 3-12 has a device amid online-based learning and a statewide ban on personal devices in schools.
The new devices will also be supported by a staggered replacement plan.
Jones said the district uses a shorter bond maturity period of six to seven years for technology refreshers, rather than the full 30 years, to ensure the debt does not extend long past the lifespan of the refreshed devices
Additionally, the bond also revisits the previously failed proposition in the 2020, 2022 and 2023 bonds to renovate Traylor Stadium, built in 1965. The stadium repairs would reduce the 10,000-seat capacity to 6,000 seats and improve accessibility through American with Disabilities Act compliance.
In the absence of bond funds, Chief Communications Officer Sonya Cole-Hamilton said the athletic budget was cut $163,000 each year in 2024 and 2025, with turf replaced in 2024 for $600,000 and lights updated the following year for $325,000.
Nivens said the stadium has major structural issues; a home-side section is fully blocked off due to its foundation support with wooden beams instead of concrete.He noted that every time the proposition ends up on the bond ballot, the price becomes more expensive to repair.
Looking back
Nov. 2014 bond for $240.6M
- Funded four new schools including Fulshear elementary, middle schools and “shell” space for Fulshear High School, facility improvements, foundation repairs and athletic and arts upgrades
- Status: 100% of projects complete
- Funded five new schools, existing campus improvements, technology and athletics upgrades
- Status: 100% of projects complete
- Funded school construction and technology equipment
- Prop B and C failed for funding practice pools and stadium construction
- Status: 99% of projects complete
- Funded 2020 bond gaps, school construction, renovations, CTE building and student technology
- Prop D and E failed for stadium improvements and new stadium construction
- Status: 54.5% of projects complete
- Failed with 54.85% of voters against stadium improvements
Ballots must legally say the bond will raise taxes; however, Chief Financial Officer Jill Ludwig confirmed if the bond passes, tax rates will stay the same for the 2025-26 school year.
Ludwig said LCISD cannot legally guarantee the interest and sinking tax rate, or I&S, which pays off debt service, will not increase. She said current projections assume 10% annual property value growth, a 5% interest rate and a 35-year repayment term.
While there have been increases in bond-related debt payments since LCISD’s 2017 bond, state-mandated tax compression of the maintenance and operation, or M&O, rate that funds daily operations and salaries has ensured that overall property tax rates have decreased.
Buchanan said bonds are the only mechanism to fund new campuses, and they’re prohibited from being used for salaries and supplies.
University of Houston professor Blake Heller’s research shows that the legally required “property tax increase” warning on Texas school bonds can reduce voter support by around 10 percentage points—even when no tax rate hike is expected—due to the misleading nature of the language.
He advises voters to recognize that in fast-growing districts like Lamar CISD, rising home values and new development may offset bond costs without increasing tax rates.
"In a place like Lamar, where we expect there to be 2,000 new students a year ... that's the kind of natural growth in the housing stock that makes the riskiness of those projections a little bit less risky."
Put in prospective
If the bond doesn’t pass, Buchanan said the district would have to rely on rezoning, portable classrooms and cap-and-overflow measures to manage student growth, which he said could disrupt families and strain existing campuses.
Without funding for new schools and critical repairs, he said, the district could face higher long-term costs and reduced educational quality.
Nivens said cap-and-overflow could result in children being bused up to 45 minutes away to campuses with available space—even if a school is visible from their own front porch.
“Rezoning is not a fun process for the community—it's not a fun process for us either," he said. "Those are very emotional conversations."
What they’re saying
Parent Melissa Stavanoa said she believes the crowding is due to past administrations failing to communicate bond needs and details amid growth, causing misinformation that only outreach efforts can fix, including the district's push for transparency through town halls and bus tours.
“Don’t just rely on, you know, word of mouth,” she said. “Go do the homework and educate yourself.”
Meanwhile, Fulshear High parent Heidi El Kheiashy said her other daughter will join LCISD next year after attending private school. While the education is comparable, she’s worried about crowded classrooms amid local growth and new housing developments.
"The biggest issue right now is the number of kids at our high school,” she said. “[The area is] only going to get more crowded.”
Moving forward
The early voting period will take place from Oct. 20-31, while Election Day is Nov. 4, Buchanan said. More information regarding the bond is posted on the district website.
If approved, Buchanan said all seven new elementary campuses will open by 2029, the same year all three secondary campuses in Fulshear will be open.
Nivens said the bond provides the foundation to meet the district’s ambition of becoming the best school system in the country. Additionally, by investing in updated technology infrastructure, the bond helps improve staff efficiency and supports educators in delivering quality instruction.
Looking ahead, he said the bond positions LCISD to manage growth strategically to include “innovative” learning by converting replaced campuses into microschools that specialize in areas of study.
"We have to continue to do what we can to make sure young people get exactly what they need to be successful, young adults." Nivens said.
