Lewisville ISD Adopts 2025-26 Budget and Tax Rate

On Monday, Aug. 25, the LISD Board of Trustees adopted a tax rate of $1.1178 for the 2025-26 school year. Due to the outstanding debt management by the Board of Trustees, the district is able to meet existing debt payments, including the 2023 and 2024 Bond programs, while decreasing the interest and sinking (I&S) tax rate by $0.04. The maintenance and operations (M&O) portion of the tax rate will increase by $0.04 as a result of the adoption of four disaster pennies that are effective for one year to help offset district costs relating to the severe storm disaster declared for Denton County in May 2024.

The district currently projects a $2.8 million deficit for fiscal year 2025-26. While the implementation of HB2 provides additional funding, a majority of it was allotted for the newly formed teacher retention allotment, which is a pass-through of raises to teachers who have taught for three years or more. The LISD Board approved a 3% of the midpoint raise for all remaining staff positions that were not covered by the HB2 allotments. The cost to provide raises for all staff for the 2025-26 school year was $20 million. LISD was unable to provide raises for staff during the 2024-25 school year due to a challenging budget scenario driven by declining enrollment, rising inflationary costs, and the Legislature’s inaction to adjust public school funding.

LISD spent the 23-24 and 24-25 school year reducing costs through staff attrition, central office budget reductions, and middle school schedule adjustments to reduce expenses. The district also retired five elementary schools after a months-long review of facility efficiency by the Community Efficiency Committee. Prior to these efforts and the additional funding for HB2, LISD anticipated a deficit of as much as $25 million for the 2025-26 school year. 

“We appreciate our LISD community, including our staff, students and families actively advocating at the state level for increases to public school funding,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lori Rapp said. “Over the last couple of years we have had to take the necessary steps to reduce expenses in alignment with our enrollment decline, but through it all, the LISD community has come together as One LISD to support students every step of the way. While advocacy efforts across the state have resulted in some additional funding for public schools, there is still more work to be done to address the rising inflationary costs that districts face.”

“As a Board, we take seriously our responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Board President Jenny Proznik said. “Even in the face of financial challenges, we remain committed to protecting the classroom experience and ensuring our students have access to the opportunities they deserve. While we continue to advocate for the state to fully fund public education, our focus will always be on supporting the success and well-being of every child in LISD.”