School closures
The Lewisville ISD board of trustees voted to close five elementary schools and approved various boundary adjustments starting in the 2025-26 school year.
Apart from the closure of Highland Village Elementary and a boundary adjustment for Memorial Elementary STEM Academy, which received a 6-1 and 5-2 vote respectively, the board of trustees approved the closures and boundary adjustments in a unanimous vote at a Dec. 9 meeting.
At a packed meeting Dec. 9, the board voted to close B.B. Owen, Creekside, Garden Ridge, and Highland Village elementary schools and Polser Elementary STEM Academy. The decision brought a close to discussions that took place from October through December, and is poised to save the district around $2.3 million, or about $460,000 per campus, according to district documents.
The boundary adjustments and rezoning for the closed campuses will be as follows, according to the district’s plan:
- B.B. Owen Elementary's 273 students will be rezoned to Ethridge, Camey, Morningside and Peters Colony elementary schools.
- Creekside Elementary’s closure will result in boundary adjustments for Lewisville, Lakeland and Degan Elementary schools, which will absorb Creekside's 373 students.
- Garden Ridge Elementary’s closure will impact Donald Elementary STEM Academy and Forest Vista Elementary, which will absorb the campus's 323 students.
- The 378 students at Highland Village Elementary will be rezoned to McAuliffe Elementary and Heritage Elementary.
- The 504 students attending Polser Elementary STEM Academy will combine with Hebron Valley Elementary, which will become the new STEM academy.
Lewisville ISD officials anticipate enrollment to dip by over 3,000 students in the next decade, according to updated projections from demographer Rocky Gardiner, a consultant with Zonda Education, who presented the data to the board Nov. 11.
The decline can be attributed to a variety of factors from increasing homeschool and private school attendance, virtual school options and fewer apartment options for younger families in Lewisville, Gardiner said.
The district has around 47,720 students enrolled for the 2024-25 school year. Projections expect a decline of about 600 students going into next year, according to Zonda Education data. In ten years projections indicate enrollment will level out around 44,400 students.
Gardiner added that one reason districts like LISD are experiencing a decline amid the state's overall growth could be attributed to a 20,000 person increase in homeschool students statewide since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Going into 2023-24, charter schools gained 18,000 students across the state and public schools lost 6,000 students, Gardiner said. Charter schools can also offer virtual and online education for students, an option that the Texas legislature removed for public schools, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Staff compensation
The Lewisville ISD school board approved a $1,000 dollar one-time payment for all staff at the Nov. 11 meeting.
Trustees reviewed the compensation plan at a Nov. 4 workshop, which floated the possibility of a one-time payment and a 1% raise.
However, due to a murky financial future, the administration settled on a one-time payment which would not carry over into subsequent years. The board adopted a $4.5 million budget shortfall for the fiscal year 2024-25.
District officials drafted a compensation plan in May that would provide a 1% of the midpoint raise for all staff and/or a one-time $500 payment. The board delayed approval until it could better determine the district's budget shortfall for fiscal year 2023-24.
After the Nov. 4 workshop the administration decided to increase the one-time payment to $1,000 since a percentage raise would not be given. According to documents, a 1% raise would have equated to a $665 increase per staff member.
In total the $1,000 one-time payment is estimated to cost $6.7 million, per district documents.
Budget shortfalls
On Aug. 26, the Lewisville ISD board of trustees approved the fiscal year 2024-25 general fund budget, which includes a $4.5 million shortfall.
The budget plans for $561.1 million in expenses and $556.6 million in revenue with a total tax rate of $1.1178 per $100 valuation, according to district documents. The total tax rate decreased by $0.0123 from last fiscal year.
The taxable value of an average residence within LISD decreased 2.6%, dropping from $449,582 in FY 2023-24 to $437,609 in FY2 2024-25, Chief Financial Officer Scott Wrehe said. This will result in a $189 decrease in residents' average tax bill.
2024 bond
In May voters approved a $101.8 million bond for Lewisville ISD athletic facility projects, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
All three Lewisville ISD bond propositions passed, according to voting results.
Propositions A, B and C—which will fund various projects at athletics and recreation facilities across the district—received 58%, 54.66% and 56.11% "for" votes, respectively.
The bond package featured three propositions that would generate additional funding to conduct maintenance, repairs and renovations at various athletics and recreation facilities across the district.
The propositions will provide funding for repairs to the following facilities:
- Proposition A: Eastside Aquatic Center and Westside Aquatic Center.
- Proposition B: Athletics facilities consisting of locker rooms and field houses; tennis courts; baseball and softball facilities; middle school competition fields; high school practice fields; and concession areas.
- Proposition C: Existing high school stadiums.
