Friendswood ISD families will see new science labs, a career and agricultural center and upgraded school buses over the next two years after voters approved three of four bond propositions in May and the board locked in a lower tax rate for fiscal year 2026-27.
The milestones cap a turbulent decade for Superintendent Thad Roher, a 1986 Friendswood High School graduate who took the district's top job in 2017 and has led it through Hurricane Harvey, a pandemic and multiple bond elections, Community Impact first reported.
Harvey hit during his first year.
"I didn't want to just be a superintendent. I wanted to be the superintendent here in Friendswood," Roher told Community Impact in an interview published Sept. 30. "I put my name in the hat and just was blessed to get a chance to do it."
Roher, a Friendswood native, returned to the district as an assistant principal in 1999. His early priorities as superintendent included modernizing facilities, broadening student pathways beyond college and building a community-based accountability system. In his second year, he convened a community group around one question, as he told Community Impact: "What are your hopes and dreams for Friendswood ISD?" The answer reshaped the district's definition of student success to include career and technical tracks alongside traditional academics.
Friendswood High School now offers a fine arts center, career technology programs and a rocketry program that did not exist 10 years ago.
Bond wins, one loss
The biggest recent test came May 2, when voters weighed in on an $81.5 million bond package. According to unofficial results reported by the Houston Chronicle, Proposition A, covering $26 million in HVAC, roofing and safety upgrades, passed with 52.64% support. Proposition C, a $12.9 million career and agricultural science center, cleared at 52.07%. Proposition D, $2 million for technology, passed at 50.47%.
Proposition B, which would have replaced Westwood Elementary for $40.625 million, failed with 50.63% voting against it.
The margins were tight. Voters had rejected all four propositions in a larger $165 million bond package in November 2025. The district responded with an 885-person community survey, and board members followed up with about 80 constituents before cutting the package roughly in half.
Tax rate drops despite new debt
Despite the new bond debt, the board approved a lower overall tax rate for fiscal year 2026-27 at its Aug. 24 workshop. The combined rate of $1.0249 per $100 valuation is below the prior year's rate, Community Impact reported. The district's $70.4 million balanced budget keeps revenues and expenditures even.
The bond itself was projected to add up to $0.0349 per $100 valuation to the debt service portion of the rate. For a home valued at $500,000 with a $140,000 homestead exemption, that translates to about $125.64 per year. The overall rate still dropped, according to Community Impact.
What comes next
Bond-funded projects are already moving, Community Impact reported. The board approved nearly $1.7 million on Sept. 14 for nine 77-passenger buses and two 53-passenger buses. The $12.9 million career and agricultural science center, which will feature 150 animal pens, a show arena and wash areas, is in the design phase. Completed plans go to the board in November. If approved, construction would start in April 2027 and wrap by late December 2027.
New science labs at Windsong Elementary and Bales Intermediate head to the board in October, with construction slated to begin in February 2027 and finish by early August 2027.
Roher, who also sits on the Texas School Safety and Security Advisory Committee, told Community Impact he wants state legislators to focus on special education funding rather than compliance-driven bills, calling measures about library books and posting the Ten Commandments "non-issues" compared to what practitioners face daily.
Design reviews for the science labs and career center are scheduled for October and November.
