Northside ISD’s $992 million bond passes in San Antonio

Northside ISD voters on May 7 approved the district’s biggest bond issue yet, a $992 million proposal designed to fund a new elementary school on the far west side and upgrades to all existing campuses and facilities.

According to totals released by Bexar County Elections Department, the single-proposition package received 57% voter approval as of 11 p.m. with 210 of 258 polling precincts counted.

District leaders said the bond will help NISD to catch up with growth and address conditions at older schools, more than half of which are more than 20 years old.

NISD is Texas’ fourth-biggest public school district with more than 102,600 students enrolled for the 2021-22 academic year. NISD voters now have passed the school district’s last nine bond issues dating back to 1995.

Some NISD residents and taxpayer advocates criticized the bond, with many saying it was too large and a waste of funds. Other critics claimed the district was not being upfront about how an approved bond would affect NISD property taxpayers over the long term.

Some detractors even developed an “It’s OK to Vote No” Facebook page to oppose the bonds that were successfully pushed by NISD and by the city of San Antonio.

Upon calling the bond election for NISD in January, board members lamented a 2019 state law requiring school districts to place the phrase “this is a tax increase” in bond ballot language, even if the district—like in this case—does not plan to raise its current property tax rate to support an approved bond.