North East Independent School District will ask voters to pass a $495 million bond proposal, meant to fund more than 270 projects, this November. 

On Monday, board trustees approved 6-1 to put the measure on the ballot after hearing from several community members concerned with the amount of debt the bond would incur. Currently, the district is paying off approximately $1 billion in debt from previous bond projects. 

District officials say that if passed, the bond would not result in a tax increase for homeowners within NEISD and would pay for much-needed improvements.

Superintendent Sean Maika said the bond projects, assessed and proposed by a facility steering committee and independent government contractor Gordian, are “needs and not wants.” 

If passed, the bond would cover several projects:

  • $41.4 million for safety and security
  • $74.2 million for instructional and network technology
  • $210.3 million for district maintenance and operations
  • $84.3 million for extracurricular programs
  • $57.5 million for district facilities
  • $12.4 million capital improvement bond management
  • $14.6 million for global general contingency

More specifically, the project list includes replacing all student chrome books and iPads, buying 100 new school buses, replacing chillers for school HVAC systems and renovating campus buildings and roads. 

A facilities steering committee first presented a bond proposal to NEISD’s board in June, while the district workshopped a budget for the 2025-26 school year. 

While some trustees were “uncomfortable” with the bond amount, Maika urged the board on Monday to approve putting a measure on the ballot to keep the district’s many facilities up to date. 

“We have gone a considerable amount of time, 10 years, without [bond projects]. We have funded projects along the way that we could afford,” but it’s time for bigger renovations, Maika told the board. 

The last time NEISD put a bond on the ballot was in 2015, for nearly half a billion dollars that went toward upgrading, renovating or replacing older campuses and facilities. Voters passed the measure by 66%.

NEISD board member Marsha Landry at a board meeting on Aug. 11, 2025. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report

Currently, NEISD operates 458 buildings and 240 portables across more than 12 million square feet of land. For comparison, district officials say NEISD has more buildings than Dairy Queen does in the entire state. 

The district’s student enrollment for the current school year is about 55,000, a drop from the nearly 59,000 students enrolled during the 2022-23 school year. 

Lowering enrollment plus a budget deficit led the NEISD to close and repurpose three school campuses in February. 

Board member Marsha Landry, the lone “no” vote on the board, asked whether it was “prudent” to ask voters to maintain what the district owns knowing that enrollment is steadily declining. 

“We may end up with debt with no resources,” she said.