The details
SISD trustees called for the bond election during the board’s Feb. 5 meeting, marking the second bond election presented to voters within the fast-growth district since 2022.
The bond election is coming as officials plan for significant growth in the district over the next 10 years.
According to a spring 2024 report by demographic firm Population and Survey Analysts, the district’s student population is expected to grow from roughly 5,300 students in the 2024-25 school year to roughly 14,000 students in the 2033-34 school year.
Superintendent Jeffrey Burke said the bond will help officials prepare for the expected influx of students in the coming years.
“The demographic reports tell us the community is growing,” Burke said in a Feb. 6 news release. “The projects in this bond will ensure we have the schools and facilities to keep up with that growth.”
SISD officials said the bond will not result in a tax increase.
A closer look
Trustees’ vote to call for the $150 million bond referendum is coming more than five months after the district’s bond steering committee first met to discuss bond options in late August.
Officials said the committee, which has met six times since August, was comprised of roughly 70 nominated residents representing various cross sectors of the community.
According to the release, the May 3 bond election will include the following projects:
- An additional junior high school
- The first phase of a districtwide support services facility
- Splendora High School auditorium and band hall additions
- Splendora High School auto body expansion and health science renovations
- Splendora High School athletics department annex expansion
- The first phase of a livestock facility and show arena
- Land for future school sites
"I appreciate the bond steering committee’s hard work—this plan benefits our students and respects our taxpayers,” Wells said in the news release. “The phased approach is smart and keeps us within our means.”
Some context
In 2022, voters residing within SISD's boundaries approved a $201 million bond referendum—the largest bond in the district’s history. The bond included:
- An expansion for Splendora High School
- A new junior high school planned to open in August
- Replacement campuses for Greenleaf and Peach Creek elementary schools
- A $18.7 million bond in 2002 for a new high school
- A $26 million bond in 2007 for a new elementary, career-and-technical-education expansions and various renovations
- A $13.5 million bond in 2012 for a Splendora High School expansion and additional district improvements
- A $30 million bond in 2016 for a new elementary school, additional space at the district’s agricultural facility and other improvements
Voters within SISD’s boundaries will determine the fate of the bond during the upcoming May 3 election. For more information, visit the district’s dedicated bond website at www.splendoraisd.org/community/bond-2025-steering-committee.
