New schools and building updates across the district would be included in the first wave of a bond plan discussed at the Board of Education meeting on May 11, 2026.

The $1.5 billion bond would provide 20 years of new school buildings and extensive renovations without raising tax rates for Dearborn homeowners. Homeowners in Dearborn Heights would see a mill increase, but total school millages would still be lower than they were a few years ago.

The board is expected to vote at its June 22, 2026 meeting to put the bond question on the November ballot.

Over the two decades, the bond could reshape Dearborn Public Schools.  If approved, it would create new and transformational spaces for general education, preschool, special education, hands-on STEAM learning, and career exploration.

The bond would also address much needed infrastructure work such as boilers, roofs, parking lots, traffic improvements, and more.

Work would be done in four phases. Several elementary and middle schools would be replaced with new kindergarten through eighth grade buildings while still maintaining neighborhood schools. The district’s three traditional high schools would be kept but eventually slated for extensive remodeling, estimated at $75 million or more per school.

Even schools not being replaced would benefit from significant repairs and upgrades in each wave of work.

Phase 1

Work to be done in the first five years would include:

• Building a new Lowrey School on the existing site and then razing the existing school.  Becker Elementary would also be consolidated into Lowrey, and the Becker building could be preserved for other uses or as a swing space to house other students during construction at those buildings.
• Creating a mutli-story middle school addition at Salina Elementary and removing most or all of the existing Salina Intermediate.
• Building a new kindergarten through eighth grade building on the O.L. Smith and Nowlin Elementary campus. The new building would also have space designed specifically to accommodate the severely disabled students currently at Howe School, including special restrooms and larger hallways to accommodate extra equipment. Smith and Nowlin students would move into the new building. DuVall Elementary students would switch to the campus starting in fourth grade.
• District wide, every school would see improvements including secure vestibules, restroom upgrades, career and technical education improvements, roofing, traffic flow improvements, buses and furniture.

Phase 2

Work to be done in years six to 10 could include:

• Building a new kindergarten through eighth grade school to replace Woodworth Middle School.  Henry Ford Elementary School would be closed and those students moved to the new Woodworth School. The Henry Ford Elementary site could potentially house a large field house to be used for indoor sports and graduation ceremonies.
• Building a new kindergarten through eighth grade building next to the existing Howard Elementary. Howard and Lindbergh Elementary would then be consolidated into that new building.  Lindbergh could be repurposed, possibly into a preschool center.
• Extensive remodeling at Maples, McDonald, River Oaks, and Whitmore Bolles elementary schools.
• Districtwide improvements would look at technology, athletics, traffic, roofing, buses and furniture.

Phase 3

Work to be tentatively done in years 11 to 15.  As community needs and educational trends change, these plans could be modified.

• Major renovations at Fordson, Dearborn and Edsel Ford high schools.
• Build a new kindergarten through eighth grade building at Bryant Middle School to house both the remaining Bryant students and those at Haigh Elementary.
• Major renovations at DuVall and Long elementary schools. DuVall would by then be a kindergarten through third grade building.
• Possibly turn Lindbergh into an early childhood center for preschool.
• Rebuild or extensively revamp the district transportation building.
• District wide initiatives would include technology, athletics, buses, career and technical education, and furniture.

Phase 4

Work starting in year 15 could include:

• Renovate McCollough-Unis. Oakman Elementary students would then move to this building, which is already kindergarten through eighth grade.
• Extensive renovation at Stout, the only remaining middle school-only building.
• Extensive renovation at Geer Park, Miller, Salina, Snow and William Ford elementary schools.
• Renovations possible at Cotter Early Childhood Center, Michael Berry Career Center/STEM Middle School, Henry Ford Early College, Operations, and Administrative Service Center. 
• Consider building a field house on the former Henry Ford Elementary property.
• Districtwide investment in technology, athletics, buses, furniture, etc.

See more details about the plans in the May 11 board presentation or watch the meeting presentation on the district’s YouTube Channel.

No tax rate increase for Dearborn homeowners

The massive bond is possible without a tax rate increase in Dearborn and a smaller rate increase in Dearborn Heights because of three tax millages that will no longer be collected.

Dearborn Schools will soon see the end of a millage voters approved in 2013 and which it is still collecting, about 1.22 mills. The district would also waive the operating millage collected from homeowners in both cities. That millage rate varies by year, but was most recently 2.18.

For Dearborn residents, the City of Dearborn will soon end a millage that was used to pay for sewer work.  Mayor Abdullah Hammoud supports letting that millage lapse to help fund major school improvements.

So while the bond question would ask voters to approve a new 3.43 mills for the school district, all of that increase is offset for Dearborn homeowners and most is offset for those who live in the Dearborn Public Schools area of Dearborn Heights.

Years of study shape proposal

The district has been planning for this new bond for a few years.  In January 2025, the Board of Education hired two companies to assist with that planning.  Quinn Evans looked at structural and educational needs in the district’s buildings, comparing the costs to remodel versus replace each building. Byrum and Fisk, meanwhile, collected public input by meeting with stakeholders and focus groups and conducting a detailed survey of public opinion for what improvements the community wanted in the schools.

The work of both firms built on a 2022-23 study by Fielding International that also evaluated the district’s buildings while considering educational changes and possible school restructuring scenarios, including recommending more kindergarten through eighth grade campuses.