Beyond staffing reductions, the district is looking to trim an additional $3 million from non-payroll expenses.
TROPHY CLUB, Texas — Big changes are coming to Northwest Independent School District after voters rejected funding proposals last November, and parents are just starting to hear about it.
The district, which has some of the fastest growth in the region and serves roughly 34,000 students in Tarrant, Denton and Wise counties, is facing a massive $16 million budget shortfall. Now, tough decisions are being made to keep things afloat.
One of the biggest impact is the district cutting 101 teaching positions. That means bigger class sizes across the board. In elementary schools, the student-teacher ratio will jump from 22-to-1 to 24-to-1. Since that’s over the state limit, the district will need special approval from the Texas Education Agency.
Middle and high school teachers, who currently have 165 students across seven class periods, will see that number rise to 180.
“These teachers are going to be really stressed,” said parent Jacque Thomas, echoing concerns across the district.
Superintendent Mark Foust had already warned this could happen if voters didn’t approve a tax rate increase, which ultimately failed last November.
“We can’t live off of $16 million deficits every year,” Foust said. “At some point, we’ll have to make drastic changes to our staffing ratios and our program offerings.”
The cuts don’t stop with classroom teachers. NWISD is also planning to reduce fine arts staffing by 15% and scale back athletic periods at each high school. The district will also restructure non-classroom staff and adjust how special education and library services are provided, mainly through attrition.
In a statement to WFAA, NWISD said:
“As with school districts across the state, Northwest ISD is facing ongoing challenges from the Texas School Funding Crisis. State leaders have not increased the base per-student funding in six years, which is used to balance salaries, class sizes and student programs. As the state continues to withhold funding, school districts are making challenging but necessary adjustments to continue to provide the same services to students and families. Northwest ISD is making these changes to preserve student program opportunities and avoid extensive layoffs.”
District leaders point to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to withhold surplus school funding for the past five years, using it as leverage to push for school choice legislation — which is up for a vote in the Texas Senate this week.
Beyond staffing reductions, NWISD is looking to trim an additional $3 million from non-payroll expenses. This includes renegotiating technology contracts, cutting supply budgets and reducing operational costs.
Although the school board first outlined these cuts in a Jan. 23 meeting, many parents are only now realizing how their children will be affected. Meanwhile, the district is still working to bridge the remaining $1.2 million gap in its budget.
