Houston Independent School District is moving forward with plans to seek board approval for a $120 million maintenance tax note following the rejection of a $4.4 billion bond in November.
During a budget workshop late last week, Houston ISD announced plans to seek board approval for a $120 million maintenance tax note to fund various repairs across the district. Of that total, $22.7 million is earmarked for roofing improvements, and $21.2 million will go toward HVAC system upgrades.
According to the Texas Education Code, school districts can use maintenance tax notes—short-term, low-interest loans—to cover essential maintenance expenses without voter approval.
These planned upgrades follow the failure of the $4.4 billion bond proposal in the November 2024 election—the largest in state history—in which 58 percent of voters opposed the bond. If it had passed, $510 million would have been allocated solely to HVAC improvements.
Houston ISD Chief of Finance and Business Services Jim Terry told The Chronicle that the remaining funds from the tax note will be used for transportation, technology, and upgrades to the Barbara Jordan Career Center—the district’s only dedicated career and technical education campus.
Although the tax note is for $120 million, Terry noted that the district expects to spend approximately $110 million.
In a related development, Houston ISD announced changes to its transportation department less than two weeks ago.
While eligibility requirements will remain primarily unchanged, the district reaffirmed that students living more than two miles from their schools, magnet school attendees (such as those in STEM or technical programs), and students with hazardous walking routes will continue to qualify for transportation services.
These changes are part of Houston ISD’s broader commitment to reducing student ride times.
“We’ve set the goal that any student who is transported on a bus to their zoned or neighborhood school will not have a ride time of longer than 50 minutes,” said Houston ISD Chief of Operational Effectiveness Kari Feinberg in an interview with KPRC 2.
“Students who are going to one of those magnet schools and maybe on a route that is a little bit further away from their home, our goal is that they are not on the bus for any more than 80 minutes,” she added.
Additionally, high school students will now have the option to use public transportation via METRO instead of traditional school buses.
“That’s something that if it works for the family and works for the student, we want to continue promoting with a more formal partnership with METRO,” continued Feinberg. “We’ll be paying for those METRO passes for … high school students, grades 9 through 12.”
This week, Houston ISD families can expect to receive an initial transportation survey, allowing parents to submit transportation requests for the upcoming school year.
