NISD approves staff raises, plans to adopt deficit budget

At its board meeting Monday, Northwest ISD school board members approved the district’s 2024-2025 compensation plan to improve teacher and staff salaries and benefits. 

The compensation plan includes a minimum 2 percent midpoint raise, and many veteran teachers will see salary adjustments to increase overall compensation for total years of service. Veteran staff who have worked for NISD for more than five years will receive a longevity stipend. The new starting teacher salary is now $61,500. 

To meet growth needs and provide these compensation improvements, NISD expects to adopt a deficit budget exceeding $14 million for the 2024-2025 school year. 

“If you see these pay increases over the years, we all know inflation has been a lot more than that,” NISD Superintendent Mark Foust said. “With the election that’s coming up in November, we have people on the ballot who can make impacts on this. We really need y’all to engage our state reps to get something better than this. Because 3 percent just isn’t enough to keep up with the over 20 percent inflation since 2019.”

If the district does not receive additional revenue in 2025, it will join school districts across the state in considering options such as hiring freezes, increased class size ratios, staffing attrition, programming reductions and more in the 2025-2026 school year. 

“I encourage y’all to reach out to your reps, and I know teachers are rule followers and they don’t want to create waves, but it’s time,” Foust said. “We have to let the state legislators know that they failed us last session, and they need to do better than what they’re doing.”

In a separate action item, trustees approved a second staffing proposal that adds positions to address growth and expanded needs. Examples of additional positions include more SPED staff, four instructional coaches, two behavioral interventionists, employees to manage bond programs and construction and more. 

Additionally, through the approval of multiple items, trustees advanced the construction of Justin Elementary School’s replacement campus and Middle School #8 in the Northlake community of Pecan Square. Middle School #8 is scheduled to open in August 2026. Both schools were approved by Northwest ISD voters as part of the 2023 bond referendum.