Dearborn Public Schools is weighing a massive $1.5 billion bond proposal that would overhaul aging buildings across the district, add new kindergarten-through-eighth-grade campuses, and bankroll major renovations at its three traditional high schools. The plan is broken into four phases over roughly 20 years and, district officials say, is designed so homeowners would see about the same overall tax burden, with expiring millages helping to offset the new debt. Trustees are expected to decide whether to put the question on the November 2026 ballot at a June 22 board meeting.
Tentative Timeline And Price Tag
District leaders walked through the draft facilities master plan during a May 11 board meeting, according to The First Bell. The presentation frames the proposal as a 20-year program to replace or renovate school buildings, modernize mechanical and electrical systems, and invest in security upgrades, buses, and classroom technology.
Phase 1: School Swaps And Consolidations
The early work would zero in on outright replacements and campus consolidations. A new Lowrey K–8 would rise on the existing Lowrey site, with Becker students folded into that campus. Salina would get a multi-story middle school addition. And a new K–8 at the O.L. Smith/Nowlin campus would be built to take in students from Howe, with features such as special restrooms and wider corridors, as reported by MLive. Districtwide first-wave work would also bring secure vestibules, restroom upgrades, roofing and traffic improvements, along with new buses and classroom furniture.
High Schools And The Heavy Lifting
The district presentation says the three traditional high schools, Fordson, Dearborn, and Edsel Ford, would all stay open but are in line for major remodeling in later phases of the long-range plan. Those renovations are detailed in the master plan posted on the district’s Dearborn Public Schools facilities page and in the board packet.
How The District Would Pay The Tab
Officials are pitching the bond as affordable for most homeowners by timing it around expiring millages and other obligations that are rolling off the books. The proposal would seek voter approval for a new 3.43-mill bond levy while using lapsing levies, including a school millage approved in 2013 and a city sewer millage that is set to end, to blunt much of the impact. Early projections put roughly $366 million of work into the first several years. Later phases would come with much steeper price tags, and MLive reports roughly $75–$80 million in work at both Edsel Ford and Dearborn High, and about $90 million at Fordson. As one official told reporters, “This is really a 20-year capital spend.”
What Happens Next And How To Weigh In
The board is scheduled to vote on June 22 on whether to place the bond question on the November 2026 ballot, while district staff continues to fine-tune phase-one details and hold community outreach sessions. An official notice listed the Ten Eyck Administration Building as the site for recent hearings and posted materials, according to The Arab American News, and the district has urged residents to review presentation materials online and send in their feedback.
