DISD May Submit $1.6B Bond Proposal To Voters

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It took Parkland Hospital half a century to build a new hospital that serves 300,000 patients yearly. The cost: $747,000,000.

For the second time in seven years, the Dallas School District is considering placing a capital improvement plan before voters. The proposed cost: $1.6 Billion.

Nine new or replacement schools, classroom additions on dozens of existing campuses and technology, art and food service enhancements are all part of the district bond package formed by the Future Facilities Task Force. "It can be hard to digest, but I think parents, teachers and students get it," Task Force Co-Chair Isaac Faz said.
Fez and other task force members started assessing Dallas ISD's future needs in January. The plans include the replacing of high schools such as Pinkston High School.

Dallas ISD enrolls approximately 157,000 students. That number hasn't drastically changed in the past decade, but student and family mobility from one community to another continues to shift. "We see families in the outer perimeter neighborhoods today, and we need to follow," Faz said.

Parent Shontal Parker is a supporter of the bond proposal. "If we're going to spend money on something, why not spend it on the education of our children," said the mother of a new student at Hextor Elementary School.

Hextor will welcome 583 children to a campus dependent upon eight portable buildings for 10 classrooms. "We have neighborhood families returning because of our success in the classroom, but I have no space for music programs," principal Jennifer Jackson said.

Jackson said she understands how $1.6 billion dollars can sound overwhelming, so she tries to examine the needs for her school.

The Dallas ISD must decide whether to place a bond plan of this size before voters in November. They meet Friday at noon.