Davis High School: $475.1M for 730,000 sq ft (≈ $651 per sq ft)

Northwest ISD’s Davis High School (also referred to as “High School #4”) is planned as a 730,000-square-foot campus designed for approximately 3,200 students.

Based on the District’s public-record cost figure of $475,104,132 (obtained via a Texas Public Information Act request), that implies an all-in cost of approximately:

• ~$651 per square foot ($475,104,132 ÷ 730,000)

• ~$148,470 per student capacity ($475,104,132 ÷ 3,200)

Note: This “all-in” figure may include more than just the main building shell (e.g., sitework, athletic components, specialty spaces, and other scope items). Even with that caveat, the implied cost level is far above common planning benchmarks used for high school construction.

How that cost compares to typical cost benchmarks

For context, RSMeans’ model-page estimate for a “School, High” building shows total building costs in the neighborhood of roughly ~$187–$208 per square foot (model assumptions vary).

A Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO) report using Gordian/RSMeans data (Q3 2025) shows Texas “High” square-foot costs around the low $200s per square foot in several major cities (planning-level model, not a detailed estimate).

Using those planning benchmarks as a reference point, the Davis High School all-in implied cost (~$651/sf) is multiple times higher than typical “model” planning costs. That doesn’t automatically prove waste (scope can differ), but it does support a straightforward question taxpayers should expect answered clearly:

What specific scope elements, site conditions, and procurement choices explain a total implied cost per square foot at this level, and how does the District benchmark that against peer projects?

National comparison: among the costliest public high-school projects reported

Public reporting has documented a handful of extremely high-cost school projects nationally. For example, Los Angeles’ Roybal Learning Center was widely reported at $578 million and described as among the most expensive public school projects.

Against that landscape, a $475M high school campus is not just “expensive”—it appears to sit in the top tier of the largest, costliest public high school builds reported in the U.S.

Why this page highlights one project out of the 2023 bond program

Northwest ISD’s 2023 bond program includes multiple campus projects and additions. This page focuses on one project—Davis High School—because it is large enough to serve as a clear, concrete case study for cost transparency. The intent is not to imply every bond-funded project is identical, but to demonstrate why taxpayers should expect clear, comparable, consistently reported cost metrics across all 2023 bond projects: total project cost, included scope, cost per square foot, cost per student capacity, change orders, and final vs. initial budget.

Proposition A: narrow approval, major promises, structural limits

In November 2025, voters in Northwest Independent School District approved Proposition A, a Voter-Approved Tax Rate Election (VATRE), by a relatively narrow margin. Public discussion surrounding the proposition emphasized the need for additional operational funding, particularly to hire more teachers and address student-to-teacher ratios.

District materials indicated that approximately $8 million of the estimated $12 million annual tax increase would be directed toward hiring additional teachers and instructional staff, with the stated goal of improving classroom conditions and managing growth.

The close vote margin itself reflects that Proposition A was contentious, and that voters expected clear, measurable outcomes in exchange for the higher tax burden.

Why the hiring math does not support the promise

Using publicly available compensation data, an average fully loaded teacher cost of approximately $65,000 per teacher(salary only; benefits would increase the total cost), an $8 million allocation would support roughly:

• ~120 teachers ($8,000,000 ÷ $65,000 ≈ 123)

Even under optimistic assumptions, this scale of hiring must be evaluated against ongoing enrollment growth, not static enrollment.

Texas Education Agency enrollment data show Northwest ISD has experienced sustained annual student growth in the ~4–5% range in recent years. At that rate, the district adds thousands of new students over a multi-year period, which materially offsets incremental teacher hiring.

Student-to-teacher ratios are unlikely to materially improve

When teacher hiring is analyzed alongside enrollment growth, the net effect is limited. Even with ~120 additional teachers, the district’s overall student-to-teacher ratio remains approximately 15:1, based on TEA staffing and enrollment datasets.

In other words:

• New teachers primarily absorb growth

• They do not materially reduce ratios

• The structural conditions voters were led to expect—smaller class sizes district-wide—are unlikely to occur under current growth trends

This does not mean hiring teachers is unnecessary; it means the scale of the promise exceeded what the funding could realistically deliver.

Why this matters for accountability

Voters were asked to approve a permanent tax increase based on representations that emphasized staffing improvements and classroom relief. A reasonable taxpayer expectation is that:

• Promised outcomes are numerically plausible

• Growth assumptions are explicit

• Success metrics are clearly defined and reported

Without transparent reporting that reconciles teacher hiring, enrollment growth, and resulting ratios, it is difficult for the public to evaluate whether Proposition A is delivering what was implied during the campaign.

This gap between messaging and measurable outcomes is why Proposition A deserves post-approval scrutiny—not to relitigate the vote, but to ensure future tax proposals are grounded in clear, realistic planning.