The latest news from LISD.

March 10, 2023

I want to thank you for visiting with representatives from LISD last week in Austin. Your willingness to hear from individuals who are directly affected by the decisions being made during this session is crucial, and I am grateful for your participation in the conversations.

As I mentioned in my last message to you, I know you face an overwhelming amount of topics to address. Today I want to provide more insight for you as it relates to school funding, and how the proposed bills actually affect our district. I’ve also shared details about how safety and security affects our budget.

My hope is that you will view LISD as a resource for information as you consider priorities this session. I look forward to continuing these critical conversations with each of you.

Dr. Lori Rapp

Superintendent of Schools

Follow along with me:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LISD.net/superintendent

House Bill 2, filed by Representative Meyer, would reduce school district M & O tax rates by 15 cents in the 2023-24 school year. This is in addition to the current law compression. We were able to do the runs for Lewisville ISD and the impact on taxpayers. While HB 2 decreases what LISD is paying in recapture, the loss of revenue from property taxes is almost equal to the reduction in recapture. We have determined that without a companion school finance bill that increases the entitlement for school districts to address inflationary cost drivers to include the need for staff pay raises, the tax compression bill provides no additional revenue to address our growing needs.

The chart below outlines the different variables at play in the school funding formula. In essence:

• With tax rate compression of 9 cents, LISD tax collections decrease.

• LISD’s entitlement based on our enrollment stays the same.

• With lower collections, LISD’s local share of the entitlement decreases.

• LISD’s net tax revenue stays the same based on entitlement.

• LISD’s total state and tax revenue stays the same.

• LISD’s recapture decreases due to loss in tax revenue.

Bottom line: the revenue loss due to tax compression offsets the recapture payment with no new revenue coming into the school district:

Below is an estimated impact of a 9 cent decrease on tax paying homeowners:

Below is a side by side comparison of a HB 2 tax compression run to a run that added $500 to the basic allotment alongside the tax compression:

• Security vestibules at main entrance for all campuses – $13.7M (these were completed within the first 2 years of the bond program)

• Added over 1,800 cameras and network storage – $3.3M

• Life cycle safety and security items (lights, paging, notification, door access, phone systems, fire alarm panels) $11.1M

• Connected remainder of campuses so they have network access to life safety systems- $693K

LISD partners with our local law enforcement agencies and enters into Interlocal Agreements which cost shares SROs with our police departments. Annual LISD SRO Expenditures:

• Keyless access additions - $935K-$1.25M
  
• Anonymous reporting and emergency management software - $237K
  
• in wall safes at all campuses to house keys and maps for first responders - $5,500
  
• Elementary Rover Program with local law enforcement (not categorized as SROs) - $600K (this program has already won an award within the first four months of operating this school year)
  
• Ballistic shields before the grant was created - $61,500
  

View our new Legislative Priorities page for downloadable resources and more information regarding LISD's legislative priorities. Thank you for representing our district!

Learn about the great things happening among our 50,000 students and 6,000 staff members.

For years, Lewisville ISD has emphasized the importance of mentorship and community engagement through our annual Career Out program. The program, which took place this year on Friday, March 3, is a day for juniors and seniors across all five high schools to job shadow executives, administrators and team members from host sites in and around the LISD community. READ MORE

The Lewisville ISD Wonder Wagon was unveiled during an official ribbon-cutting ceremony held on Monday, March 6, 2023. Though the titular wagon, part of the district’s elementary Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) department, was only recently revealed, LISD STEM administrators have already begun to introduce Wonder Wagon programming to elementary campuses. READ MORE