Too many Dallas students spend their days crammed into crumbling classrooms.

The majority of the district's schools are more than 50 years old. Some are literally coming apart at the seams. And even the best teachers can't completely offset the effects of an outdated, dilapidated learning environment.

So, as Dallas Independent School District trustees consider whether to schedule a May bond election, the urgent need for new and improved schools is not in doubt. Rather, this is a question of timing.

DISD officials are braced for a less-than-flattering audit that's expected within the next month. This confluence of events means that the district could be revving up a bond campaign while trying to explain a stark financial assessment – an unhappy coincidence to be sure.

But district leaders have emphasized that the audit will show no evidence of fraud. The report will call for changes to accounting procedures and improved controls. It will be incumbent upon school officials to put these findings into context for voters.

Despite this significant challenge, the school board should move forward with a May election. To delay would be a disservice to Dallas students.

The proposed $1.3 billion bond package is short on bells and whistles and largely focused on bricks and mortar. Schools across the city would be repaired and replaced. Many existing buildings would be modernized, and technology would be upgraded. Southern Dallas, where the needs are greatest, would become home to some of the planned flagship schools.

DISD trustees understandably have reservations about calling a bond election with the audit looming in the near future. But waiting for a more opportune time would be a costly decision.

Scheduling constraints likely would force the district to push the election to May 2009 if the board balks at this opportunity. Construction costs are escalating so rapidly that each six-month delay essentially costs the district the equivalent of one elementary school.

So, waiting a year or more would force DISD to sacrifice planned schools and would mean getting far less bang for its buck. As the students who sit in aging classrooms can attest, that's a decision the district can't afford to make.

DISD's proposed $1.3 billion bond program includes:

• $521 million for renovating existing schools

• $423 million for new and replacement schools

• $96 million for technology upgrades

• $93 million for campus additions

• $12 million for science labs