A Historic Year for School Tax Elections and a look at 2025 and beyond
Petra Sucher, Exploring Bond Insights 
2024 was another banner year for school tax elections. Our post elections results, as of November 7th, 2024, we saw a 39% increase in total available funds compared to 2023. 2,249 initiatives went to vote in 2024. We closed out the year at $113.9 billion with a 75% national passage rate. This surge highlights the growing focus on securing adequate resources for school districts nationwide.
Looking ahead in 2025 and beyond. SchoolBondFinder is currently tracking 1,158 bonds as of Jan 13, 2025. To date $31 billion is available in potential funding for 2025, and that does not include many of the watchlist initiatives, which have TBD funds attached.
Here's a breakdown of what lies ahead for Quarter One: (Q1January 1-March 31).
As of Jan 13, 2025 102 bonds have been introduced with a vote date between January and March. These opportunities collectively represent up to $8 billion in potential funding, with more expected for Q2, Q3, and Q4. Five key bond topic areas are appearing for Q1 initiatives. They are as follows, construction / renovations, capital improvements, technology, transportation, and other areas. Refer to the bar chart for more information.