North East ISD moves forward with 30 voter-approved 2025 bond projects

Projects include parking lots, mechanical, HVAC, electrical and plumbing. Cabello said these companies worked well within the district’s parameters, including being able to handle technically complex projects, such as chillers and switchgear controls, but were able to work within schedule sensitive time frames like summer, school breaks and nights.

He said each company was selected after rigorous scoring from an evaluation committee and went through a two-step process that included a paper-review and interviews.

“Twenty points out of 60 were based on experience and past performance, 15 points [for a] local office, 10 points for design philosophy, another 10 points were on K‑12 experience and five points for financial stability,” Cabello said.

The interview section scored them with a further 40 points, with presentation content receiving 15 points, Q&A performance receiving 15 points and team cohesion receiving 10 points.

According to the presentation, the 14 design build firms are a mix of general contractors who will provide experience for large, complicated, multitrade projects, and specialty contractors who have a deep expertise in mechanical, plumbing or control systems. Six of these companies have never worked for NEISD before as prime subcontractors, but they have K-12 experience as subcontractors.

The background

On Nov. 4, voters approved 97%, or $483 million, of the proposed $495 million bond. Proposition A passed with 60.41% of the vote, Proposition B passed with 56.62% of the vote, and Proposition C passed with 50.11% of the vote. Proposition D failed with 53.15% voting against and Proposition E failed with 50.27% voting against.

According to district documents, bond projects were selected after a review by a facilities steering committee, which was formed in December 2024. The committee consisted of parents, community members and NEISD staff. Bond funds can not be used for daily operating expenses, including salaries and utilities, which are paid using the district’s maintenance and operation budget. Bond funds can only be used for approved capital projects.

Bond funds will be used for:

• Renovating and repairing existing school buildings
• Enhancing campus safety and security systems
• Improving fine arts, athletics and extracurricular spaces
• Upgrading instructional technology and classroom equipment

What’s next

Negotiated projects will return as individual agenda items in future meetings, which will be approved by the board on a project-by-project basis.