Board Notes: Feb. 8, 2021 — Board approves $745.7 million bond election

Feb. 10, 2021

February 8 Northwest ISD Board Notes

The Northwest Independent School District Board of Trustees met Monday, Feb. 8, 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.

NISD Board of Trustees call a $745.7 million bond election

The Northwest ISD Board of Trustees called a $745.7 million bond referendum for the May 1, 2021 election. With a proposal that's $240 million less than the November 2020 bond package, the 2021 bond election will be split into four referendums that cover new facilities and capital improvements, stadium renovations, middle school recreation facilities and technology devices. A breakdown of costs per ballot proposition is as follows:

Proposition A: $712.4 million
Proposition B: $8.2 million
Proposition C: $5.7 million
Proposition D: $19.4 million

The majority of the bond will address growth, providing nearly 5,000 additional seats for new students. Demographic projections indicate 4,000 to 5,400 new students could enroll in NISD by the 2024-2025 school year.

Learn More about the Bond Election

Trustees hear attendance boundary recommendations

District administration presented the board with proposed attendance boundary recommendations that will take effect for the 2021-2022 academic year, if approved. In addition to establishing the attendance zone for the district's new Berkshire Elementary School scheduled to open in August 2021, boundary adjustments were also recommended for other schools throughout the district. In conjunction with Templeton Demographics, NISD administration have evaluated attendance boundaries in an effort to prevent campus overcrowding, minimize future boundary changes, maintain healthy student-teacher ratios and improve school efficiency.

The recommended attendance boundaries will be considered for approval at the board's next meeting on Feb. 22. The proposed changes will be shared with the community during a Facebook Live broadcast on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

PROPOSED CHANGES FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ZONES:

PROPOSED CHANGES FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL ZONES:

PROPOSED CHANGE FOR HIGH SCHOOL ZONES:

Reports, discussions addressed by board

District leadership presented the following to the board as a report or discussion item:

Campus staffing formulas for the elementary and secondary levels were presented as a discussion item to the board. Campus needs and staffing formulas were carefully analyzed and the proposed changes were adapted to support district budget cuts and an additional 1,650 students (6.5% increase from 2020-2021) anticipated to enroll in NISD schools in the fall. The Board will consider approval of these formulas during the Feb. 22 board meeting.

Texas Education Agency has identified Pre-Kindergarten Systems for adoption for the 2021-2022 school year. NISD Curriculum Coordinators worked with campus leadership and teachers to identify a committee to review eligible materials for adoption, including Frog Street.

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

In other action, the board

Approved an adjustment to the 2020-2021 staff calendar, making Monday, March 22, a student and staff holiday. Tuesday, March 23 will be a campus PD/planning day.

Ordered a Trustee Election to be held May 1, 2021 to fill expiring board seat Place 1, currently held by DeAnne Hatfield and Place 2, currently held by Mark Schluter.

Recognitions

Trustees recognized Jennifer Tallman, Mark Vechione, Christa Spearman and Brenda Davidson from the Purchasing Department for being awarded the TASBO Purchasing Award of Merit. This is the 10th time NISD has earned this award in the last 11 years.

Unable to attend in person, the board also recognized Matthew Eiserloh of Medical City Alliance for his partnership and inclusion in the TASB Business Recognition program and Laurie Whestine for being named NISD's February 2020 Volunteer of the Month.

To view photos from Northwest ISD’s board meetings and other district and school events, visit the district Flickr account.