Dearborn Public Schools will seek a $1.51 billion bond to replace or extensively remodel every school in the district over the next 20 years.
During its regular meeting on Monday, June 22, 2026, the Board of Education approved ballot language for the Nov. 3, 2026 election.
“We are calling this bond transformational because it will be. It will change how Dearborn Public Schools looks and how we serve students for generations to come,” said Interim Superintendent Lamis Srour.
The ballot language will ask for a 3.14 mill increase, but Dearborn homeowners will not see their total tax rates change because of the bond. The new tax for the bond will be offset partly by a 0.96 mill reduction in the City of Dearborn’s debt millage for a combined sewer project. Dearborn Schools will also stop collecting its 2.18 operating millage if the bond passes, which would bring the bond to a zero millage change for Dearborn homeowners.
Bond work would be done in four waves over 20 years. Six new schools would be constructed under the bond, all of them preschool through eighth grade buildings serving neighborhood students. Every remaining school would eventually have major remodeling. The buildings not slated for remodeling in the first waves of the bond work would still see significant improvements such as new roofs, secured vestibules, upgraded restrooms, traffic flow improvements, and improved athletic facilities.
Every school would see improvements in the first three years of the bond. And every school would be air conditioned when the bond work is completed. Elementary schools would have space for preschool as the state expands its free preschool program. New career and technical education spaces and STEAM learning labs would also be included in the plans.
When the work is complete, the district will have 100,000 square feet less space to maintain.
Before each wave of work, the district would gather community input on the next round of bond projects. Waiting to design the specific work for each building will allow projects to be adjusted to meet community and educational needs at that time.
Residents can learn more about the proposal on the district’s new 2026 Transformational Bond website. An overview is also available in the June 22, 2026 Facilities Master Planning report and on the district’s First Bell website.
Dearborn Schools has spent the last few years preparing for the bond. Two firms were hired to look at educational and building needs in the district to create cost estimates, and a third gathered community input via stakeholder meetings, focus groups, and a formal survey. Plante Moran Realpoint is serving as program manager for drafting and implementing the bond. That work will include ensuring projects are done on time and on budget with regular updates to the community.
The last successful bond in Dearborn Public Schools was in 2013. The district has the lowest school debt tax rate in Wayne County.
“This bond will go far beyond basic repairs to our schools,” said Incoming Superintendent Mike Esseily. “Voters have a chance to approve a measure that would fundamentally change our community, creating vibrant new or like-new learning spaces ready to help students thrive for generations to come.”