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Dallas ISD District 1 Newsletter – January 2026 Recap
Note: Please see our website for Spanish version which will be available soon.
January brought our first snow days. Students enjoyed a few days at home, but we are now back in full swing. Here is what is happening in Dallas ISD and District 1 below.
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Dallas ISD Updates
Dallas ISD 2026 Bond: The Board received the district’s final recommendation for a potential bond. As outlined in the last newsletter, the recommendation is to ask for a ~$6.2 billion bond, which would result in a 1-cent increase to our tax rate. That amounts to an increase of ~$2.79/mo. or ~$33.48 for the entire year for a home valued at $500K. This is smaller than all other increases in recent years (e.g., Richardson ISD’s increase last year was $124 per year per homeowner). And even with the increase, Dallas ISD will have the lowest tax rate among larger districts in Dallas County and North Texas such as Frisco ($1.17), Richardson ($1.03), Garland ($1.02) and Fort Worth ($1.01). In exchange, this bond would allow us to lower the average age of our buildings from over 43 years to 33 years, remove every portable in the district, and nearly eliminate our deferred maintenance.
Mid-Year Student Progress Report: In both reading and math, middle of year student achievement results improved for K-8 students. Positive progress showed up in two ways: (i) compared to the beginning of this school year, showing growth within the grade level, and (ii) compared to results from the middle of year last year, comparing year over year growth.
Dallas Education Foundation Update: Providing $3m in additional support in calendar year 2025 for our students and programs, the Dallas Education Foundation’s return on investment clocks in at 1800%, providing support for campus book vending machines and career exploration mobile labs, among other investments. Click here, to learn more!
District 1 Updates
Here are highlights from our District 1 schools. Please e-mail any ideas you have for highlights to LanceCurrie@dallasisd.org.
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Career Institute North Robotics: Congratulations to robotics team at CI North for demonstrating their advanced robotics capabilities at the JROTC Robotics Tournament hosted by Vanguard High School in Mesquite.
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Walnut Hill ILA Destination Imagination Team: The WHILA’s Destination Imagination Team won first place with a perfect score for their Instant Challenge and 6th place overall in their team challenge category. Amazing!
Upcoming Events
- Thursday, February 12 at 4:00 p.m. – Board Briefing (5151 Samuel Blvd)
- Saturday, February 14 at 9:00 a.m. – STEM Expo (Fair Park Auto Building, 3809 Grand)
- Monday, February 16 – President’s Day – No School!
- Thursday, February 26 at 6:00 p.m. – Board Meeting (5151 Samuel Blvd)
Thank you for the opportunity to serve our students. If you have questions, thoughts, or want to talk about how we can work together to make Dallas ISD the best school district, please reach out. I’m happy to grab coffee or set up a Zoom call. Just e-mail me at LanceCurrie@dallasisd.org.
Sincerely,
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