Find answers to frequently asked questions about Northside ISD’s 2026 Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) and bond propositions. This page will be updated as additional questions are received and information becomes available.
VATRE, Compensation and District Finances
If the VATRE is approved, the Contingent Compensation Plan would be paid retroactively by December 2026. The district has not made a determination on whether it is paying in one or two checks.
If approved, the VATRE would generate an additional $45.5 million in yearly revenue for the district. Of that amount, approximately $21.5 million would be generated through local property taxes and the remaining $24 million would be garnered from the state. These funds would be directed to the Contingent Compensation Plan approved by the Board for all staff. Remaining VATRE funds would be directed to the deficit budget.
No decisions have been made regarding changing any of these specific positions for the 2026-2027 school year.
The Board approved a Contingent Compensation Plan that includes all district employees, with the exception of Learning Tree staff and substitutes.
By law, bond funds cannot be used for teacher salaries. The additional funds generated by the VATRE could be used for teacher and staff salaries.
The total tax rate for the District would be applied the same by all taxing entities, not just Bexar County.
The board approved a 2% general pay increase contingent on passage of the VATRE at the school board meeting on June 23, 2026. The pay increase is scheduled to be included in the December 2026 paycheck.
The board approved a 2% general pay increase contingent on passage of the VATRE at the school board meeting on June 23, 2026. The pay increase is scheduled to be included in the December 2026 pay check.
The Contingent Compensation Plan approved by the NISD Trustees would include a 2% general pay increase for all employees, selected pay adjustments, and proposed stipend adjustments to better align with market rates, as recommended in a recent TASB salary and stipend study.
Bond 2022 Projects
There are currently nine projects identified in the 2022 School Bond, including the work you reference at Meadow Village, that have been placed on hold while the district assesses how best to proceed with those specific projects. The bonds approved for those nine projects have not been sold. Like the projects, the sale of those bonds is also on hold. The funds that would be generated from the bond sale have not been used for any other purpose.
The District has not sold the bonds that would generate funds for the projects slated for Meadow Village or the other eight sites with Bond 2022 currently on hold. The authorization for the funds remains on hold. The district has not used any of those funds for any other projects.
The number of projects for the bond are based on the initiative and is broken up by campus, even though multiple campuses could be completed in one contract. Currently, ~66% of the projects are complete, ~18% are in progress and approximately 16% remain to be completed. The majority of the remaining projects to do are the second phase of the playground improvements which includes 42 campuses.
The Board has made no decision to close any district campus. Currently, the district has paused Bond 2022 projects at nine schools while staff assess each school’s most recent enrollment and other information to ensure the best decision is made regarding the use of bond funds.
Nine projects included in School Bond 2022 are on pause while the district assesses the best course of action moving forward and to ensure the best decisions are made regarding the use of funds entrusted to the district. The district has not spent those funds. The bonds that would generate the necessary revenue for the nine projects have not been sold. Our Facilities and Operations Team will continue to ensure the systems remain functional and are addressed should issues arise.
Bond 2026 Projects and Planning
The district has considered solar energy options over the past several years, however there has been no significant cost-savings, over time, for the implementation.
NISD Maintenance has been assessing the specific HVAC system at Luna and Ott. Most recent issues were actually CPS-related. With respect to adding any additional projects to the Bond 2026 proposal, the Board of Trustees has also approved the scope of work and that cannot be changed at this time.
The process starts with a close look at the physical shape of every school. The team tracks the expiration dates on critical equipment, flagging aging roofs, worn-out air conditioners, and plumbing that are near the end of their useful lives. Next, they conduct hands-on inspections across campuses to uncover immediate repair needs and establish a baseline of priorities.
Once the physical needs are mapped out, the team sits down with department leaders—from athletics and fine arts to special education and technology. These conversations capture specific programmatic needs, like expanding a science lab or adding security tech, ensuring the list reflects real day-to-day challenges in the classroom. All of these ideas are compiled into one master wish list.
Finally, the facilities planners turn that wish list into a realistic budget. Using industry cost guidebooks and recent local construction data, they calculate an initial price tag for every request. To avoid surprise budget shortfalls later on, they adjust those estimates to account for new building codes, changes in state requirements , and the inevitable rise in labor and material costs over time. The result is a grounded, fully priced proposal ready for community consideration.
Most school updates are driven by the need to adjust learning spaces to meet today’s state educational guidelines (TEA standards). Older school buildings often struggle with cramped classrooms and small science labs because building codes required much less space back when they were originally built.
Upgrading these spaces can save money long-term, depending on what gets updated. For instance, replacing an aging roof or installing modern heating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems makes the building run much more efficiently, lowering utility bills. However, calculating the exact dollar amount saved is tricky. Because these renovated rooms share power and cooling with the rest of the school—and aren't tracked on separate utility meters—it is difficult to isolate the exact savings for just the updated areas.
Under Proposition C, campus staff are projected to receive updated devices necessary to manage day-to-day administrative duties and deliver ongoing student instruction while continuing to receive security updates. For students, the funding would provide updated hardware required to fulfill mandatory state online testing requirements and access digital curriculum tools using secure operating systems.
Northside currently operates in a K–8 shared-cart environment rather than issuing individual 1:1 take-home devices. This ensures students use technology deliberately for required instruction and testing without relying on continuous, all-day screen time.
Voting and Tax Information
Yes, individuals who have applied and qualify for the Over-65 Homestead Exemption are able to vote in the election.
This is a personal choice that each voter needs to make.
Videos and Additional Information
Yes, the Bond 2026 videos are all accessible on our nisd.net/bond26 website.
Aquatics Facilities and Programs
The district of 96,000 students is divided into two areas. Each area is assigned one of the two aquatic centers in the district for student and community needs. NISD has approximately 17,477 students who utilize the district athletic facilities throughout the school year. Some of the specific uses include: aquatics (5,982 students), UIL student athletes (838), club swimmers (534), swim & dive lessons(2,110), 3rd grade KSK (1,700), and GT Boat Racers (800).
The district does maintain partnerships with area entities that could allow limited access to other facilities but this would not provide the full pool capacity necessary to address all of the district’s aquatics needs.
The Athletics Department is prepared to develop a plan of action to move all programs scheduled at the Block Aquatics Center to other locations, including the Farris Swim Center. If approved, the proposed work in Proposition D would call for the complete replacement of the George Block Aquatic Center.
The George Block Aquatics Center opened in 1978, making it 48 years old as of 2026.