Northwest ISD announced Tuesday that it will lay off some employees and increase its class sizes next school year due to a lack of funding.
In November, voters rejected a 3-cent tax rate hike that would have covered the district’s $16 million budget deficit, which it blames on the state government for not increasing its funding amounts since before the COVID-19 pandemic, despite significant inflation since then.
“Northwest ISD is disappointed that the state’s inaction on public school funding has forced school districts across Texas to make challenging adjustments to class sizes and student programs,” the district said in a statement.
In alignment with neighboring districts, Northwest ISD will increase class sizes for budget efficiency and continue to provide the programs and services families expect, it said in a news release. Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, Northwest ISD will staff schools based on the following class size models:
- Elementary School: Grades 2-4 moving to 24 students per class (up from 22 students per class); pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade will remain at 22 students per class, and fifth grade will remain at 25 students per class
- Middle School: Moving to 180 students a teacher sees per day, or 25.7 students per class period on average (up from 165 students per day and 23.5 students per class period on average)
- High School: Moving to 180 students a teacher sees per day, or 30 students per class period on average (up from 165 students per day and 27.5 students per class period on average)
“These adjustments will not affect every class and are based on the overall averages of enrollment at a campus or in a specific grade level,” the district said. “Currently, the district projects that 80% of elementary classes will have fewer than 24 students, while secondary class sizes will depend on student course enrollment and master scheduling.”
In addition to changes to class sizes, similar adjustments are being made to programs and services across the district to ensure their sustainability following meetings with district and campus leaders.
- Elementary Specials: To maximize efficiency and provide relief for current specials classes at the elementary level, library will be added to the specials rotation, which currently includes art, music and P.E. This model will allow for an overall reduction in class sizes for all specials classes.
- Dyslexia & ESL Services: While the quality and type of service provided in dyslexia and ESL will not change, the number of students served at a single time will increase in some instances. These numbers will continue to remain at or below legal limits.
- Gifted & Talented Services: By adjusting the service model for gifted and talented programs at the elementary level, GT teachers will support two campuses. These teachers will deliver services to K-5 students through in-class support or out-of-class instruction, depending on grade level, and provide personalized learning opportunities tailored to students’ unique needs.
- Athletics & Fine Arts: In line with class-size adjustments, athletic and fine arts programs will see similar staffing reductions. While the district is not eliminating any program, program staffing is changing.
- Program Reductions: Because of low enrollment, Northwest ISD will eliminate a small number of programs. This currently includes AVID, offered at Chisholm Trail and Pike middle schools and Northwest High School, as well as Reading Recovery. AVID and Reading Recovery teachers will transition to different teaching positions.
Without changing these services models, Northwest ISD would have to consider cutting entire programs and services, it said in a statement.
Corresponding proportional adjustments to administrative staffing are also taking place across both campus and district staffing structures. More than $6 million in staffing reductions have already been approved for support positions, and $5.7 million in staffing reductions have been approved for teaching positions.
“For the past four years, Northwest ISD has focused on making reductions at the district administration level to reduce the impact of insufficient state funding on the classroom,” the district said. “Every campus or department in Northwest ISD is impacted by these significant budget reductions.”
Northwest ISD will continue to aggressively advocate for adequate school funding, and it plans to prepare for another tax rate election in November to address funding gaps at the state level. The district encourages families to consider using its letter templates, facts and resources to address concerns about the impact of insufficient school funding with lawmakers.
