Bismarck Public Schools Is Looking For 127 Million

The BPS 127 Million Dollar Bond

Bismarck Public Schools is looking for help from taxpayers. They are seeking 127 million dollars from the citizens of Bismarck for a bond that is needed for improvements to its aging facilities. The money would fund upgrades, including deferred maintenance, safety, and accessibility improvements across 25 BPS facilities.

Here's how the money would be broken down if you are a homeowner.

This bond will be voted on by the citizens of Bismarck during the primary election, which is coming up on Tuesday, June 9th. This could be a tough sell for the school district, considering what most families are going through right now, in my humble opinion. Gas prices have jumped to $4.00 a gallon in the city. EVERYTHING is more expensive these days, from groceries to utilities. Most citizens don't have extra money lying around each month.

If You Do The Math

If you own a $100K home (not many of these around), you will pay about $50 bucks a year. A $200K home (same thing, not many of these around anymore either), you will pay about $100 bucks a year. A $400K home will cost you about $200 a year, and finally, a $600K home will set you back about $300 a year.

My son went to Bismarck High, so I know all about that aging building, and I certainly understand Bismarck Public Schools is dealing with the very same things we residents are dealing with. Everything costs more. When something breaks, it can be financially crippling. Same with me, when my air conditioner stops working, I know we are going to have to go without something to get it fixed. Again, because of today's economic climate, it might be difficult to convince citizens that they need to give up more of the money that already isn't going as far as it needs to go.

Social Media Reaction

As you would expect, it has a wide variety of opinions, from mismanagement of funds already, to we need to do it for the kids now, before something bad happens. Some people feel the graph is misleading, considering nobody has $100,000 homes anymore, and others say it should say how much residents will pay over the course of the entire bond.

Some individuals on Facebook forums have pointed out that some of the BPS higher-ups are already making way too much bank (in their opinion). There were claims that some individuals in the BPS system are making more than the North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction makes, which, according to a search on Google, was approximeately $130,000 back in 2023. How much more? A lot. One comment claims that the Superintendent at Bismarck Public Schools makes well over $250,000 a year. I have requested a public records request from BPS to verify if this is true. Others chimed in that there are numerous higher-up employees allegedly making over $200,000.

I'm not saying that these BPS employees don't deserve those kinds of salaries, but it isn't sitting well with people who are really struggling to make ends meet, and people making that kind of money have their hands out.

What do you think? How do you plan to vote? Please let me know in the comments.

You can read more about the BPS 2026 Bond Referrendum here.