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Board reviews draft legislative priorities including funding, pre-K, safety and recapture
Summary
Board heard an initial draft of Northwest ISD’s legislative priorities — six broad categories including requests for targeted funding (special ed, pre-K, safety, transportation), classroom behavior and mental-health supports, local control and recapture reform. Trustees asked for clearer dollar impacts and will revisit the draft in June.
Board members reviewed a draft set of legislative priorities the district plans to advance during the upcoming legislative cycle.
The administration outlined six broad categories for advocacy: (1) adequate public school funding with requests for targeted buckets (teacher retention allotment expansion, increased special education funding, full funding for full-day pre-K and transportation increases), (2) classroom behavior, discipline and mental-health supports with weighted funding requests for campuses, (3) limited state government and preserving local decision-making around bonds and election timing, (4) elimination or reduction of recapture, (5) protecting the voice of public education in curricular and assessment choices, and (6) meaningful accountability and assessment reform.
Administrators noted district-specific figures where available: school-safety local costs for the current budget cycle were described as approximately $2.5 million, with approximately $1.7 million provided by the state—leaving a local shortfall the district characterized as an underfunded mandate. The presentation also flagged the state’s pre-K funding policy (half-day funding currently) and asked that full-day pre-K be funded to reflect the 2026 requirement for all 4-year-old pre-K students to attend full time.
Trustees discussed wording and audience for the document, urged the inclusion of clear dollar figures to aid lawmakers’ quick review, and recommended additional review by the advocacy committee before the board considers formal action at a June meeting. The board did not vote on the priorities at this meeting and will return a revised draft for reconsideration.
