Engineering a bridge from Garza ECHS to UT Austin. Photo courtesy of Dallas ISD HUB.
It’s hard to believe, but the 2025-2026 school year has ended! The class of 2026 graduates officially received their diplomas and Dallas ISD students and staff started their well-deserved summer break. However, the Dallas ISD school board continued to be busy, with several major items in May.
Dallas ISD District 7 monthly update:
- From Trini Garza to UT Austin: Check out this great profile of some of our fabulous District 7 students who will be off to The University of Texas this coming year.
May board meetings debrief: This month, Dallas ISD also held its regular board briefing and meeting. I’ve highlighted a few key items below:
2026-2027 school year budget adoption: The Board of Trustees voted to adopt the 2026-2027 budget for the school year. Here are some key elements of next year’s budget:
- The approved local budget total is about $1.9 billion. This is a small decrease from our current year budget. This results in a projected budget shortfall of about $104 million. However, we have more than enough fund balance to cover this shortfall and stay above the standard best practice by a significant margin.
- We expect our tax rate to be 99 cents per $100 of value, which would be lower than the current rate. Any increase you see in the taxes you pay is due to the increasing tax values, not an increase in Dallas ISD’s tax rate.
- We are estimating that we will have to pay $73 million of local tax revenue to the state of Texas, which is up from $60 million this current year.
- Increased minimum wage to $17.50 an hour, staying significantly above the surrounding region.
- Dallas ISD’s starting teacher salary is now $68,000 vs. regional average for a starting teacher of $64,000.
- Average salaries for returning teachers next year will be over $78,000. This is before any additional stipends.
- Increased teacher salaries averages around a 5% raise. Total staff raises increased by more than $56 million.
- Reduction of approximately 100 central staff positions, netting approximately $24 million. This totals more than 259 positions and $98 million in central office reductions over the last three years as the district continues to put more resources directly to campuses.
- Fully funding a universal prekindergarten program for all interested students and parents across the district.
- Reduction of $92 million in payroll costs as well as other reductions in contracted services, determined based on a comprehensive return on investment analysis.
Staff climate survey hits all-time highs: Staff morale continues to rise, showing growth in every single survey area and hitting all-time highs since the survey began in the 2017-2018 school year. This is the second year in a row that the district has achieved a new all-time high and confirms why we’re seeing continued retention and lower turnover from our staff.
District warehouse purchase: The board voted to have the district pursue the purchase of a new warehouse for our district. This purchase would allow us to consolidate from five different locations spread across the city into one centralized location, resulting in cost savings.
Moisés E. Molina High School improvements approved: I was proud to support an additional $700,000 change order for Molina High School specifically targeted to resolve connectivity issues across the campus and improve the sidewalks surrounding the campus.
As always, please reach out if you have thoughts, ideas, questions, concerns or just want to say hello.
Upcoming Events
- Thursday, June 25 at 6 p.m.: Dallas ISD Board Meeting (5151 Samuell Blvd.)
Ben Mackey
As always, please reach out to me if you have thoughts, ideas, questions, concerns, or simply want to say hello. Just reach out to me at BenMackey@dallasisd.org
Best,
Ben Mackey
