The current situation
The board of trustees adopted the district’s budget for the 2025-26 school year during their June 23 meeting for $544.36 million. The budget is broken down between their general fund, food service and debt service. The surplus will go toward the food service fund, NISD Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Pastusek said.
The background
NISD has been working to lower a $16 million shortfall for the upcoming year to help the district maintain a balanced budget, according to previous Community Impact reporting. The current budget surplus comes after significant cuts that mostly impact class ratios and staffing, Pastusek said.
Student-to-teacher ratios will be increasing from 22:1 to 24:1 for third- and fourth-grade classes and increase from 165:1 to 180:1 for teachers throughout the day for secondary schools. Middle schools will have 25.7 students per class on average and high schools will have 30 students per class on average, according to the district.
Pastusek said the district considered cutting some programs to save money, but were ultimately put back into the budget after House Bill 2 was passed at the 89th Texas Legislative session, which ended June 2. He said the district would gain $192 per student “due to law change.”
Also of note
Teachers will receive a raise for the 2025-26 school year through state and local funding. Teacher raises are based on the following experience:
- $2,500 from state funding for 3-4 years of teaching experience
- $5,000 from state funding for 5+ years of teaching experience
- $2,250 from local funding for 0-2 years of teaching experience
