Cypress-Fairbanks ISD was poised to float a $1.6 billion bond referendum before voters in May, but Superintendent Doug Killian announced in a board workshop Thursday that Harris County can’t support an additional election on top of several upcoming local and statewide primaries and ensuing runoffs.
That’s just fine with Jeff Ivey, a member of CFISD’s Long Range Planning Committee, who told the Houston Press this week that he plans to make sure that the bond doesn’t pass. Ivey raised concerns about technology upgrades outlined in the bond, a sentiment echoed during the workshop by trustees Todd LeCompte and Christine Kalmbach.
Following a brief presentation on the bond proposal by committee co-chair Anya Lucas, Killian told board members the bond can’t go before voters in May. Even though the state and local primaries are next month, early voting for runoffs would begin in May and overlap with a special bond election.
“We got notified about two weeks ago that Harris County could not support running our election if we called for a May 2 election,” he said. “That was a little punch for us. Multiple county commissioners reached out to the staff at the election office. Nothing was working. Here’s the bottom line: They have two primaries going on, Republican and Democrat. They’re basically using all their resources for those elections.”
It would not be fiscally responsible for the district to buy its own equipment for one bond election, the superintendent added. “Trying to run an election nowadays with all the procedures and changes and training and the tight timeline for getting the machines, it’s just not realistic,” he said. “We will have to bring this back to you for a November bond.”
Thomas Jackson, the only community member to speak during public comment on Thursday, spoke in support of the bond.
“It appears to me that the funds identified are necessary and not extravagant despite the size and will augment academic attainment,” he said. “It is appropriate to send the matter out to the voters because this district is, in fact, a performing district and has earned the trust of the taxpayers that the funds expended will be to the benefit of students and staff but also to taxpayers in enhancing property values.”
Ivey had a different take, although he didn’t express it in front of the board. In a phone interview, he criticized the makeup of the Long Range Planning Committee. Fourteen of the 65 volunteers were appointed by school board members; the rest were appointed by administrators.
“How do you get an outcome that you want? You put everybody in place that will give you the answers that you want,” Ivey said. “The community is not represented on that committee.”
Trustee Cleveland Lane, who was elected in November, asked who was on the Long Range Planning Committee and was told the panel was composed of teachers, principals, parents and students.
“For y’all to come together and say that we needed a bond, that means it was thought out and that the community as a whole has come together and said this is what we’re going to need to be competitive with surrounding districts,” Lane said.
Ninety-three percent of committee members voted to recommend a bond in May. Since that option is off the table, the school board has until August to call a November election.
Ivey, who didn’t vote to recommend the bond, said he hopes in the meantime they’ll revisit an $80.5 million expenditure on new Chromebooks for students, including those in elementary school. He also questioned whether swimming pools need to be upgraded just because “somebody told them that the life expectancy was X amount of years.”
“They’re insulating themselves and job security in these silos like construction and IT,” he said. “Why would Cy-Fair have a better IT infrastructure than most publicly traded companies?” The children and grandchildren of current Cy-Fair ISD voters will end up funding the bonds because they’ll be paid off over a period of 25 years, Ivey added.
On the matter of Chromebooks for elementary-aged kids, Kalmbach said she’s concerned about the district’s liability if students access inappropriate sites after hours. She also questioned whether increased use of screen time may be harmful and said she provided research to fellow board members to support that point.
LeCompte suggested that a classroom set of laptops should be used for the youngest students. Associate Superintendent Tonya Goree said classroom sets are available for kindergartners and first graders but she recommends students in second through fifth grades be able to take home computers in an effort to provide equity.
“Not every household has access to technology, so if a parent wants to help their child with their learning at home and they don’t have a device at home, that just widens the educational gap for some of our students,” she said.
The board still has time to tweak or remove some of the items in the committee’s recommendation before calling a bond election later this year.
Bond items recommended by the committee are split into four propositions:
- Critical infrastructure, safety and security, technology infrastructure and transportation
- Instructional technology
- Athletics
- Pools
Some of the proposed upgrades are mandated by the state, including lap-shoulder seatbelts on school buses and bulletproof glass. It’s not a “pretty bond” with shiny new schools and facilities, Killian said. “It’s all needs-based.”
“The interesting thing for me was looking at the scale of our operations and trying to take care of HVAC systems and chillers and roofs,” he said. “All of that just multiplies in terms of dollar amounts.”
Cy-Fair ISD, the third-largest school district in Texas, hasn’t passed a bond since 2019, which is when a state law passed requiring bond propositions to include the language, “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE” in all capital letters and a larger font, even if the “interest and sinking” tax rate is projected to remain the same or decrease.
District officials have said they don’t expect a tax increase for residents if a bond between $1.2 billion and $2 billion were to pass. However, property taxes could potentially decrease if a bond is not approved.
The district’s general operating funds can’t cover the needed upgrades, Lucas told the board during a January 15 meeting. Cy-Fair ISD adopted a $1.2 billion budget in June 2025.
Lucas told board members on Thursday that the committee carefully evaluated every item on the bond list and looked for ways they could save money. They revised the proposal from a $1.74 billion, six-year bond to five years, saving millions.
“It’s needs-based,” Lucas said. “Really, everything in this bond is AC, security, new equipment and things like that.”
A bond election is asking permission to finance allowable capital needs and levy a tax to pay the principal and interest on the bonds. When bonds are sold, the proceeds must be spent on the construction or renovation of facilities, equipping facilities, security, technology and buses and vehicles. Proceeds cannot be used for general operations of the district.
Cy-Fair has passed three bonds over the past 20 years. When the district’s last bond was approved, the tax rate was $1.37 per $100 of assessed property value. The 2025 adopted tax rate was $1.0669 per $100 of assessed property value.
Houston ISD proposed a $4.4 billion bond in 2024. It failed on all proposals. Critics said at the time that the amount was too high and it was viewed as a referendum on state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles.
This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.