The Dallas Independent School District is deliberating spending over $13 million to buy multiple lots in downtown Dallas to build out a new campus.
The cost would be covered using City bond money and used to acquire three downtown lots: 904 South Ervay Street, 909 North Saint Paul Street, and 913 South Saint Paul Street.
If the initiative is approved, the campus will house three ISD programs.
- Downtown Montessori: The Dallas ISD runs a Montessori program that “emphasizes student self-discovery and independence,” according to their website. Classrooms focus on creative, hands-on activities in small, collaborative groups.
- IDEA: The Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship Academy, better known as IDEA, is an ISD program that allows students to pursue their interests and hone their strengths through personalized learning and project-based assignments.
- CityLab: The ISD’s CityLab prepares “students to become the next generation of citizens, design professionals, and civic leaders,” according to the program’s details. Like IDEA, CityLab is meant to be hands-on but with a greater focus on community involvement and professional industry experience.
The funding comes from the $3.4 billion bond approved by voters in November 2020. It was initially part of an even larger proposed $3.7 billion bond election, the largest in Texas history, but residents voted down some of the propositions. The vast majority of the bond money, $3.2 billion, was designated to be spent on building replacement schools or undertaking repairs and upgrades on existing ones.
District leaders say the new campus will reportedly result in a more efficient use of space since up to three programs will be centralized in a single downtown location. They also added that residents have asked for a downtown campus for years.
If the resolution recommending the acquisition of the properties is approved, the proposal will be returned to the DISD bond and construction teams for the project’s next stage.