Francis Howell School District is heading back to the ballot on Nov. 3, 2026, asking St. Charles County voters to approve a pair of no-tax-rate-increase moves: a $150 million bond issue for building repairs and upgrades, and a 12.5-cent shift of the district’s debt-service levy into its operating fund. District officials say the levy transfer would keep homeowners’ overall tax bills level while freeing about $5.5 million a year for teachers, transportation and food service, all as the district tries to deal with aging roofs, HVAC systems and safety needs across its campuses.
The plan was detailed by the St. Louis Business Journal, which reported that the district is seeking authorization to borrow for capital projects at all 23 schools and will also ask voters to approve a separate levy-transfer question. According to the Business Journal, the Francis Howell school board voted to place both measures on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot.
What's on the ballot
Proposition H would allow the district to borrow $150,000,000 for capital projects across its 23 campuses, while Proposition O would move 12.5 cents from the district’s debt-service levy to its operating levy. That transfer is estimated to generate about $5.5 million a year for day-to-day operations, according to the Francis Howell School District. The district says bond dollars would go toward failing roofs, windows, flooring, mechanical and electrical systems, HVAC upgrades, Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility work and safety and security improvements. Superintendent Mark Delaney has said the measures are meant to help cover an expected state-aid shortfall of roughly $9.3 million over the next two years and to protect classroom services from cuts.
Projects the bond would cover
Board and planning documents show that administrators have stacked up a list of near-term projects that they say have been pushed back by rising construction costs. Those include HVAC replacements, repairs to exterior building envelopes, playground rebuilds, upgrades to auditoriums and athletic facilities, and work on a transportation hub. As laid out in a recent bond-program update, some of that work is already under design or out to bid, while other projects are still on hold pending available funding. The update notes that inflation and earlier estimating gaps have cut into the purchasing power of past bond authorizations and that targeted replacements could also bring energy-cost savings and utility rebates.
Where this fits historically
The current proposals grow out of a facilities-planning process that identified roughly $150 million in immediate priorities and recommended a phased strategy to tackle the most critical items first. The district’s request for qualifications for bond-underwriter services and related bond records note that the last successful bond issue was Proposition S on April 7, 2020, which authorized $244 million, and that outstanding bond principal stood at about $286.4 million as of June 30, 2024. Administrators say those figures helped shape the timing and capacity for the new request. The RFQ also confirms that Francis Howell serves about 16,500 students across 23 campuses, underscoring the scale of the proposed work.
Next steps for voters
Proposition O and Proposition H will appear on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, and the district notes that the last day to register to vote in that election is Oct. 7, 2026. Residents are urged to use county resources to confirm polling locations, check registration status and review absentee-voting procedures; tools and sample-ballot lookups are available through the St. Charles County Election Authority. District communications indicate that voter-education materials and campaign efforts are expected to ramp up through the summer and fall as officials refine project lists and cost estimates tied to the two measures.
