1. Burbio's data covers an enormous breadth of funding insights and opportunities, and this week we start with school district bonds, a funding source that is often assumed to only cover new construction and infrastructure upgrades but often features large, immediate investments across other K-12 verticals. Spring is a busy period for bond votes, and from Burbio's School Bond Tracker we wanted to highlight funding that impacts industry verticals beyond building and repairing new schools:
- In April, Tulsa Public Schools, OK, will be voting on Proposition 1 to spend over $200 million on textbooks, library books, electronic media content, software licenses, and fine arts, in addition to facilities for early childhood, STEM labs, CTE and athletics.
- In May, Dallas ISD, TX, will vote on $6.2 billion in bonds, which includes Proposition B for $144 million for technology upgrades.
- In March, Olathe Public Schools, KS, will vote on a $389 million bond to build two new schools while closing four. Part of the bond includes musical instrument replacements and investments in the district's fine arts department.
- In May, Marquette Area Public Schools, MI, will vote on a $60 million bond which includes, as one of its three priorities, "Modern learning spaces - including science labs, CTE areas, arts and music rooms, athletic facilities, and classroom technology . . . "
- In May, East Hampton Union Free School District, NY, will vote on three bond propositions with two of them being for a new pool building and a new athletic facility. Those bonds are conditional on the first bond passing, a common approach to athletic upgrades.
Bond information is available in Burbio's district-level planning tools which are used to identify opportunities heading into the 2026-27 year. Further below we highlight special education investments in upcoming bonds.
2. This week Burbio is adding dynamically updated district-level contact data (name, title, email address, phone, etc.) to our Intel Hub for decision makers across K-12. Clients will access the data for use in email campaigns and district outreach. Below, we profile the variety of ways districts designate their College and Career Readiness (CCR) and CTE leadership. The chart displays the percent of districts that have individuals with the indicated title:
3. Burbio’s Signals Tracker reads and summarizes millions of pages of district school board discussions, helping clients identify immediate selling opportunities. This week, we analyze district board meetings to track discussions around school security. Top areas include:
- Building security and access control: Hardening school facilities through physical measures such as secured vestibules, fencing and door security systems.
- Cybersecurity and Data Privacy such as against cyber-attacks, phishing schemes, and ransomware.
- Weapon and Firearms Detection such as AI-driven firearms detection systems and metal detection scanning.
- Security Staffing including School Resource Officers (SROs), armed security guards, and School Marshals.
- While not involving district spending, multiple board meetings featured discussion expressing concerns about the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions around school communities. Comments came from school board members (Santa Monica-Malibu Unified, CA), district unions (Gresham Barlow SD 10J, OR) and members of the public (CUSD 300, IL, and Tolland Public Schools, CT).
4. Earlier this month we analyzed thousands of board discussions to identify the primary reasons districts are implementing tutoring. This week we revisit the subject by highlighting the biggest challenges districts are facing in deploying tutoring:
- Staffing Shortages and Retention: Districts frequently struggle to fill personnel positions, often relying on teachers dedicating their personal preparation time to tutor students, while also facing compensation pressures to prevent internal staff from leaving for private tutoring opportunities.
- Logistical and Accessibility Barriers: Implementing after-school programs requires coordination of transportation and meals to ensure students can attend. Districts do things like redesign advisory periods or lunchtime blocks to offer tutoring during the school day. For virtual programs, administrative coordination is needed for rostering and technical setup.
- Financial Sustainability and Funding Delays: Districts often worry about the long-term viability of tutoring initiatives once specific grants expire and delays in receiving federal funding can stall critical supports.
- Student Engagement and Program Accountability: Maintaining high attendance is paramount but can be difficult due to the extra time commitment, and virtual tutoring models face challenges in ensuring student accountability in a remote environment.
- Districts also report barriers to meaningful parental involvement, which is crucial for student success in these programs.
- Meeting Diverse and High-Intensity Needs: Scaling tutoring to support massive populations requires specialized resources that are often in short supply. Districts also struggle to provide enough differentiated, one-on-one instruction to fulfill mandates for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and virtual programs must ensure students have the necessary technology and connectivity to participate.
5. Continuing our look at bonds, many districts use these funds for special education. Here are some bond votes featuring that area this Spring:
- In May, Ingham ISD, MI, will vote on a $100 million special education bond focused on upgrading two schools that serve special education students.
- Earlier this month, Seward Public Schools, NE, passed a $25 million bond that includes Special Education classroom renovations.
- Joplin Schools, MO, is voting on a $40 million bond in April that includes upgrades to Special Education Suites.
- $138 million bond up for a vote In March, Mahwah Township Public School District, NJ, proposes to create a designated space for the 18–21-year-old special needs program.
- In May, Tuloso-Midway ISD, TX, will vote on a $136 million bond that includes upgrades to SPED Sensory Rooms.