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Dearborn Public Schools School Improvement Bond Proposition
Dearborn Public Schools · Wayne County · on the November 3, 2026 ballot in Dearborn City, Dearborn Heights City.
Dearborn Public Schools School Improvement Bond Proposition
$1.51 BILLION bond — the largest school bond in Michigan this cycle, issued in four waves over 20 years with up to 30-year repayment per series. Builds six new preK–8 neighborhood schools, remodels every other building, adds air conditioning district-wide, secured entrances, CTE/STEAM labs and preschool space. Voters rejected a $240M bond in 2019.
Cost to you: 3.14-mill increase in year one (about $314/year per $100,000 of taxable value), partly offset by the district dropping its 2.18-mill operating levy and a 0.96-mill drop in city sewer debt.
Official ballot language
Shall the Dearborn Public Schools, County of Wayne, State of Michigan, borrow the sum of not to exceed One Billion Five Hundred Ten Million Dollars ($1,510,000,000) and issue its general obligation unlimited tax bonds, in multiple series, to pay the cost of the following projects in order to implement the School District’s 2026 Facilities Master Plan which includes the construction of new preK-8 school buildings, major renovations at all school buildings including the three high schools, expanding space for career education programs, safety and security measures, improving infrastructure for STEAM programs, and traffic improvements: Erecting and completing new school buildings and other facilities; Remodeling, constructing additions to, equipping, re-equipping, furnishing, re-furnishing school buildings, athletic fields, playgrounds and other facilities; Acquiring and installing instructional technology infrastructure and equipment in school buildings and other facilities; and Preparing, developing and improving sites at school buildings, athletic fields, playgrounds and other facilities and the purchase of school buses? The maximum number of years any series of bonds may be outstanding, exclusive of refunding, is not more than thirty (30) years; the estimated millage that will be levied to pay the proposed bonds in the first year is 3.14 mills (which is equal to $3.14 per $1,000 of taxable value); and the estimated simple average annual millage that will be required to retire each series of bonds is 5.67 mills annually ($5.67 per $1,000 of taxable value). (Pursuant to State law, expenditure of bond proceeds must be audited, and the proceeds cannot be used for teacher, administrator or employee salaries, repair or maintenance costs or other operating expenses.)
How we grade proposals
Plain-English summaries and the YES/NO explanations are ours; the ballot language above is the official text from the Michigan Secretary of State sample ballot. Confirm with your clerk if anything differs on your ballot.