Jennifer Murphy was sworn in as the newest member of the Northwest ISD Board of Trustees.

Murphy was elected to Place 7 on the school board by voters during the Nov. 3, 2020 election. She began serving on the board immediately after her swearing in, officially voting on agenda items following the ceremony.

Trustees Steve Sprowls (Place 5) and Dr. Lillian Rauch (Place 6) were also sworn in following their reelection to the board.

Board of Trustees sets officers
Trustees voted to select their officers for the current board term, with the following positions selected: Anne Davis-Simpson, Ph.D., as president; Steve Sprowls as vice president; and Lillian Rauch, Ph.D., as secretary. 

Electing officers is an annual practice that generally follows a scheduled board election.

Demographers expect enrollment surge this spring
Bob Templeton of Templeton Demographics told trustees that although enrollment in public school districts has declined 5-6% across the country — as more families choose to homeschool students due to the COVID-19 pandemic — demographers expect to see an enrollment surge beginning in January and continuing throughout the 2021-2022 school year.

Northwest ISD enrollment continued to climb this fall, he reported, with 25,399 students at the end of the third quarter. Projections show NISD could grow by an additional 1,650 students by the end of next school year. Templeton expects 500-650 of those students are homeschoolers who will return to public education as confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine grows and restrictions are lifted.

Despite the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, the housing market is performing extremely well, with builders having one of the best years on record, Templeton told the board. Northwest ISD ranked fourth among DFW school districts in annual closings, with 2,399 new homes sold annually.

Justin, Lance Thompson, Cox, J.C. Thompson, Curtis and Schluter elementary schools are each estimated to close more than 200 new homes by the end of the year. Within NISD, there are 50 actively building subdivisions, 34 future subdivisions in the planning stages and groundwork is underway on 4,899 lots in 20 subdivisions.

Templeton told trustees that he expects the district to add 2,000 to 2,500 homes annually for the next 3-5 years. Projections also show that enrollment will surpass 32,000 students in the next five years. Click here to view the entire report.

Trustees hear results from post-election survey, stakeholder feedback meeting
Tim McClure, assistant superintendent for facilities, shared results from the election survey and a recent stakeholder feedback meeting with the board.

The voter survey had 3,801 total participants, with 1,152 answers to the open-ended question. Hanover Research firm, which conducts statistical analysis for K-12 schools, analyzed the answers to the open-ended question and shared four key findings:

  • The largest number of respondents expressed concerns that the bond issue would increase property taxes or that property taxes were already excessive.
  • The next largest category of respondents expressed concerns about voters' understanding of the implications of the bond referenda.
  • Many respondents expressed concerns in several categories related to financial management.
  • Many respondents expressed a belief that the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the outcome of the election.

Trustees also heard communications from the stakeholder feedback meeting and Long Range Planning Committee, which will reconvene for its first meeting on Dec. 15. To view the entire report, click here.

McClure explained that the district's Long Range Planning Committee will review Nov. 3 bond election results, responses from the survey, stakeholder feedback and demographic projections. The committee will re-evaluate projects that were proposed as part of the Nov. bond election, review potential projects, and discuss modifying their recommendation before the district considers calling another bond election for May 2021.

Reports, discussions addressed by board
District leadership presented the following subjects to the board as a report or discussion:

  • Adopted budget for 2020-2021.

To view reports or discussion presentations from board meetings, click here.

In other action, the board

  • Recognized the 2020 Holiday Card Winners: Kaili Groves (First Place, O.A. Peterson Elementary), Charleigh Bina (Second Place, Cox Elementary), Kylie Jenkins (Third Place, Hatfield Elementary), Audriana Bunn (Fourth Place, Schluter Elementary), and Kynlee Day (Fifth Place, Hatfield Elementary).
  • Approved amendments to the 2020-2021 operating budget.
  • Approved the 2021-2022 High School Course Academic Planning Guide with course additions, enhancements or deletions.