‘It’s a Texas school funding crisis’: Northwest ISD gives update to staff cuts
The Northwest school district will be eliminating 33 more staff positions by attrition than was originally reported heading into the 2025-26 school year.
In a Facebook Live, the district also gave parents more details regarding the cuts and plans to increase the student-teacher ratio as it addresses a $16 million budget gap.
Despite having 33% more students since 2019, the district has had to stay on the same ever-tightening budget provided by the state. The Senate is set to consider a bill that would increase the basic allotment to $6,555 per student, with 40% of that additional revenue dedicated to teacher pay raises.
State lawmakers have not changed the basic allotment of $6,160 per student since 2019 despite inflation. Nor has the state provided funding for teacher raises, meaning districts have had to restructure their existing budgets to compensate.
Anthony Tosie, Northwest’s spokesperson, told the Star-Telegram that proposed increase “does not come close to meeting the structural needs of school districts.”
In February, the district announced it planned to cut 101 teacher positions, but it now plans to eliminate 134 spots through attrition. Many of the additional positions are administrative or support roles.
The district announced the cuts after voters rejected a tax increase in November.
Over the last four years, the fast-growing district has hired 869 staff members primarily on-campus.
Through a Facebook Live hosted by the district, viewers were also given details as to which grade levels will see more students in desks per classroom.
The district expects to save $13 million through the staff reductions and $3 million by ending contracts.
Jonathan Pastusek, the chief financial officer, said that the $3 million cut was a “really big hurdle” that he wasn’t sure the district be able to find in its budget.
The district has consistently paid teachers more than the majority of North Texas districts, typically falling around the top quarter to top third of teacher pay, a spokesperson said. Because districts across Texas are dealing with the same challenges, there has not been an atypical teacher turnover rate.
In Houston, the Cypress Fairbanks district is cutting 600 positions to offset a $77 million deficit. Dallas faced a $187 million budget shortfall last school year.
“You can see it’s not a Northwest ISD issue,” Northwest Superintendent Mark Foust said. “It’s a Texas school funding crisis across the state.”
This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 3:47 PM.
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to reflect that the number of staff reductions was different than originally reported and to specify the positions that will be reduced.