Voters in Northside (Texas) Independent School District in San Antonio has easily won approval of $848.9 million bond request—the district’s largest ever.
The San Antonio Express-News reports that 11,718 voters, or 68 percent, favored the bond, and 5,502 opposed it.
The Northside referendum was the largest of dozens of school bond elections in Texas on Saturday.
The district sought the funds to upgrade its aging facilities and keep up with steadily growing enrollment in the far western portions of Bexar County.
The bond request was Northside’s sixth to win voter approval since 2000. In those years, enrollment has climbed from about 64,000 to 106,000.
Before Saturday, the most recent Northside bond election was in 2014, when voters approved a $648.3 million request.
The projects covered in the bond program include:
- Major renovations of libraries, cafeterias, fine arts areas, and science labs at older schools
- Four new schools, including a high school
- Upgrades to infrastructure systems such as roofing and HVAC systems
- Safety and security upgrades, including security lobbies at 44 elementary schools
- A new public service magnet program at Marshall High School
- Updates to students’ and teachers’ technology, including more mobile devices
- Additional school buses
All but five of Northside’s 119 school will receive renovations and upgrades.
Superintendent Brian Woods says the results represent a vote of confidence from the community.
