Thank you for the warm introduction to Northwest ISD. As I’m becoming more familiar with the district and our schools, I am enjoying becoming part of the NISD family. The learning and opportunities I’ve seen in the classroom are impressive. This district is blessed with many of the best educators in the State who are doing great things for our kids, and I’m grateful to be part of this learning community.

This week the NISD Board of Trustees reached some important district milestones, approving new school attendance boundary changes and receiving the Long-Range Planning Committee recommendation for a bond program to fund schools and projects to accommodate our growing student enrollment. These recommendations immediately impact the future of Northwest ISD and support high-quality student learning experiences now and for decades to come.

 

Thank you to those who followed the process, asked questions, and provided insight regarding the proposed attendance boundary changes. Thanks to your feedback and the responsive process established by our attendance boundary committee, your engagement led to the final development of school boundaries for next year and a solid plan leading into our future. We were able to consider and make adjustments where possible, and the NISD Board of Trustees approved the new 2023-2024 school attendance boundaries at Monday night’s meeting.

As a fast-growth school district, we anticipate reviewing our attendance boundaries annually to help manage our student enrollment growth. For those families that will be impacted by the new boundaries, whether next year or in future years, I understand that change is difficult. Please be assured that we have very high-quality teachers and staff in every school, and we are aligned in our efforts to create meaningful, innovative and personalized learning experiences for every NISD student.

The Long-Range Planning Committee also shared their recommendation to the Board of Trustees to call a bond election for 12 new schools, renovations and additional facilities.

The fastest-growing school district in North Texas, Northwest ISD has been growing significantly, adding on average more than 1,000 new students per year. The recommended new schools and additions in this bond will accommodate 8,400 additional students.

More than 86% of the recommended bond funds are for projects directly addressing the district’s rapid growth for four Early Childhood Centers, a new high school, a new middle school, four new elementary schools, two replacement elementary schools and other projects. Maintaining and refurbishing our current facilities makes up 9% of the recommendation, with the remainder focusing on safety and security and technology.

I want to personally thank the committee members for their commitment and the personal time they invested for our students and the future of our learning community. The work of this committee is impressive and deeply data driven. These community members spent significant time evaluating our current facilities, studying our enrollment projections and considering the impact of increasing construction costs and inflation in order to develop their recommendation.

Northwest ISD has been a fast-growth school district for more than 20 years. For many years the Long-Range Planning Committee has prepared Northwest ISD for future students and emerging facility needs by prioritizing projects for bond elections. The projects proposed in the 2023 bond recommendation total $1.995 billion and are estimated to represent a property tax increase of one-tenth of one penny to NISD homeowners. This increase equates to approximately $4.10 per year based on the average home value of $450,000.

Our Board of Trustees held a special meeting to study the recommendation on January 24 and will consider calling the proposed bond election at the February 13 board meeting. To learn more about the Long-Range Planning Committee’s recommendation and process, visit www.nisdtxlrpc.org.

Northwest ISD is extremely lucky to have a student-focused school board. As January and School Board Recognition Month ends, I encourage you to reach out and thank these tireless leaders. They are truly vested in Northwest ISD and our students. I have no doubt how taxing this past year has been with the unfortunate passing of Dr. David Hicks and completion of two superintendent searches, but they continue to lead this district forward with distinction. I am extremely grateful for their servant leadership and heart for the students of Northwest ISD.