February 28, 2023
February 27 Northwest ISD Board Notes
The Northwest Independent School District Board of Trustees met Monday, February 27, during a regularly scheduled meeting. This is a recap of the major actions and reports from the meeting. To see every item discussed or voted on, click here.
Three elementary principals named for 2023-2024 school year
The Northwest ISD Board of Trustees approved the district’s recommendation for three new elementary principals, each of which will begin her new position after the current school year concludes.

  • Erin Appling at Roanoke Elementary School: Erin Appling will join Northwest ISD from Keller ISD, where she currently serves as an elementary school principal. She will replace Kristi King, who will retire at the end of this school year. Read more about Ms. Appling in this news article.
  • Amanda Bomar at Hughes Elementary School: Amanda Bomar will join Northwest ISD from Denton ISD, where she currently serves as an elementary school principal. She will replace Dr. Jessica McDonald, who will serve as the inaugural principal of Daniel Elementary School. Read more about Ms. Bomar in this news article.
  • Sarah Thornell at Sendera Ranch Elementary School: Sarah Thornell will now lead Sendera Ranch Elementary School, a promotion from her current role as assistant principal of neighboring J.C. Thompson Elementary School. She will replace John Booles, who will serve as the inaugural principal of Carter Elementary School. Notably, she began her journey in Northwest ISD as a teacher at Sendera Ranch. Read more about Ms. Thornell in this news article.

These new campus leaders will reach out to their schools at the appropriate time to greet families.
Q4 demographic report continues to show rapid growth
The demographic report for the fourth quarter of 2022 showed continued rapid growth across Northwest ISD, with several developments driving home sales.

Bob Templeton, a representative of Zonda Demographics, said Northwest ISD remains the fastest-growing school district in North Texas. The district, which has been classified as a fast-growth school district for roughly two decades, will continue to see substantial growth for many years to come.

“Northwest ISD is in very rare, limited company – there’s only a handful of districts [across the state] that have this type of growth going on,” he said. “We do anticipate that in five years you’ll top 38,000 students, and in 10 years you’ll top 48,000 students.”

While the district will continue to see rapid growth, Zonda did project economic difficulties such as continued supply chain issues that decrease the number of new homes under construction. In Pecan Square, for example, 211 new homes began construction in the past 12 months, compared to 562 in the previous 12-month period.
District proposes transitioning to full-day pre-kindergarten in 2023-2024
Northwest ISD academic leaders presented a proposal to the school board that would see the district implement full-day pre-kindergarten beginning in the 2023-2024 school year.

While the district currently has a waiver for the implementation of full-day pre-K, the proposal would allow all eligible students to begin receiving full-day services next year. Currently, the district serves 21 sections of full-day pre-K with 588 students, while the proposal would allow the district to serve 814 students in 37 sections. This would have notable staffing implications, with the need to hire 16 pre-K teachers as well as 16 pre-K paraprofessionals, though four of each of these positions are already planned because of growth. Additionally, 10 early childhood special education teachers and 26 early childhood special education paraprofessionals would need to be hired, of which four and six, respectively, are already planned for because of growth.

Because of the change in staffing, $2.37 million would need to be allocated for this expansion in the budget.

Notably, moving to full-day pre-K dramatically increases the probability a child will display kindergarten readiness. In the half-day program, 53% of students were on track for kindergarten readiness, while in the full-day program, 70% of students were on track for kindergarten readiness.
Budget workshop looks at future finances and state funding law changes
In a budget workshop before the regular meeting, trustees heard from the district’s finance department about new projections for the 2023-2024 school year.

As the district continues to grow and remains what the state considers property tax wealthy, the recapture payment to the state (sometimes referred to as the “Robin Hood” payment) is projected to increase under current legislation. In 2023-2024, the district expects to pay nearly $33 million to the state if current legislation remains unchanged, up from the projected payment of nearly $28 million this year. In 2024-2025, it is projected to increase to $70 million, and in 2025-2026, it is projected to increase to $93 million.

Like all school districts in Texas, however, Northwest ISD is awaiting the results of the current state legislative session and what changes to school finance may arise. With projected changes to legislation, the recapture payment could decrease to $16 million in 2023-2024, $38 million in 2024-2025 and $60 million in 2025-2026.

The result of state legislation changes will also affect how the district budgets the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Priorities for the fiscal year include aggressively competitive compensation, campus staffing for student enrollment growth and program changes such as the implementation of full-day pre-K. The district remains committed to its goal of a balanced budget.
Reports, discussions addressed by board
District leadership presented the following subjects to the board as a report or discussion:

  • Growth Budget and Staffing Matrices
  • Demographic Report
  • STAAR Redesign Report
  • January Financial Report
  • Facilities, Planning and Construction Monthly Report
  • Full-Day Pre-Kindergarten Report

To view reports or discussion presentations from board meetings, click here.
In other action, the board
  • Recognized Byron Nelson High School student Lakshya Meiyappan for winning the freehand division of the Texas Campus Crime Stoppers Conference’s best poster contest.
  • Recognized the 2022-2023 Northwest ISD Spelling Bee champion, Ayan Verma of Pike Middle School.
  • Recognized Granger Elementary School for being redesignated as a Texas State School of Character.
  • Recognized the January Volunteer of the Month, Kaitlin O’Connell, for her support of schools.
  • Recognized volunteers Krystle Hoskin, Kyson Hoskin and Creighton Hoskin for their support of the Northwest ISD Education Foundation.
  • Recognized the Northwest Retired School Employee Association for its support of the Northwest ISD Education Foundation.
  • Approved a change order for the construction of Berkshire Elementary School that saves the district $274,834.35. That funding will now go back into the existing bond budget and can be used on other appropriate capital projects.
Recognitions
Students from Lizzie Curtis Elementary School led the pledges.
The board recognized Byron Nelson High School student Lakshya Meiyappan for winning the freehand division of the Texas Campus Crime Stoppers Conference’s best poster contest.
The board recognized the 2022-2023 Northwest ISD Spelling Bee champion, Ayan Verma of Pike Middle School.
The board recognized Granger Elementary School for being redesignated as a Texas State School of Character.
The board recognized the January Volunteer of the Month, Kaitlin O’Connell, for her support of schools.
The board recognized volunteers Krystle Hoskin, Kyson Hoskin and Creighton Hoskin for their support of the Northwest ISD Education Foundation.
The board recognized the Northwest Retired School Employee Association for its support of the Northwest ISD Education Foundation.
To view photos from Northwest ISD’s board meetings and other district and school events, visit the district Flickr account.