Northwest ISD voters will decide this November whether to approve a three-cent increase to the district’s tax rate to fund smaller class sizes and employee pay increases.
The district’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to call the election, which will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot.
If approved, the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate would be $0.6631 per $100 of taxable property, compared to $0.6331 if voters reject the proposal. According to the district, either rate would still be lower than the 2024 rate of $0.6669 because of state-mandated tax rate compression.
District officials said the proposal would generate at least $12 million in new operations revenue, with two-thirds of that amount dedicated to hiring more teachers to reduce class sizes. The remaining $4 million would go toward increasing staff pay.
In a statement, Northwest ISD said the additional teaching positions would be spread across all grade levels and fine arts programs. The district cited some high school core classes with 40 or more students as an example of where staffing could be increased.
Elementary schools across Northwest ISD are also facing staffing challenges due to rapid growth. Johnie Daniel Elementary in Northlake has had so many new students enroll for this school year that the district is adding an additional teacher in both second and third grades.
“Northlake remains a fast-growth area for our district, and we have seen enrollment already exceed projections at Johnie Daniel and Lance Thompson elementary schools,” said a district spokesperson in a statement.
The state caps elementary class sizes at 22 students. But districts can request an exception from the state to go beyond that limit. District officials say they expect to ask the state for more exceptions this year than normal due to the district’s recent staffing restructuring. “Most elementary classes will remain at or under 22 students, though about 20% will have one to two students more,” said the spokesperson.
The district is hoping to fix that with the increased tax revenue. Northwest ISD pointed out that, if the measure gets approved, most homeowners would still see a decrease in their total tax bill. That’s because the state recently approved a new $40,000 increase in the state’s homestead exemption.
More information about the election is available on the district’s website at www.nisdtx.org/election.
