October 2023

LISD Families,

What a busy month it has been! I’ve had a blast celebrating with the Cougars, Hawks, Marauders, Farmers and Jaguars at their homecoming celebrations over the past few weeks. I hope that your family was able to make some memories participating in the festivities!

I wanted to let you know that later this week all LISD families will be receiving an email with a link to our annual parent survey. Your input is crucial as we plan for the future of our district, so I hope you’ll spend a few minutes giving us your feedback.

As you know, election season is approaching quickly. LISD will have seven propositions on the ballot this November, one for a Voter Approval Tax-Rate Ratification Election, or VATRE, and six for bond proposals. I encourage you to visit LISDBond.com for everything you need to know about campus projects, voting information, FAQs and more. Early voting begins this upcoming Monday, Oct. 23! The most important thing for you to remember is that even if all seven propositions are approved, LISD's tax rate will still be 10.6 cents less than it was in 2023.

I hope you’ll read the rest of this newsletter to get a glimpse of everything going on in our district. Thank you as always for partnering with LISD as we work together to build the next generation of learners and leaders!

Dr. Lori Rapp

Superintendent of Schools

Follow along with me:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LISD.net/superintendent

In this video I cover our upcoming Bond & VATRE election, the current legislative special session, our family survey and more. Need this in a different language? Read instructions for how to translate.

Oct. 23 | Early Voting Begins

Oct. 27 | World Occupational Therapy Day

Nov. 3 | Last Day of Early Voting

Nov. 6-10 | National School Psychology Week

Nov. 7 | Election Day (Student Holiday, Staff Day)
Nov. 13 | Regular Board Meeting

Nov. 11 | Veterans Day

Nov. 15 | Education Support Professionals Day

Nov. 17 | Substitute Educators Day

To view the 2023-24 LISD Academic Calendar visit LISD.net/cal. For school hours, including early release times, visit LISD.net/hours.

Visit LISDBond.com to learn more about LISD's seven propositions included on the ballot this November. To find out what projects for your campus are included in the bond proposal, visit LISDbond.com/projects. The most important thing for you to remember is that even if all seven propositions are approved, LISD's tax rate will still be 10.6 cents less than it was in 2023.

Early voting begins Monday, Oct. 23 and runs through Friday, Nov. 3, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7. When you vote snap a picture and use the hashtag #BeTheOneWhoVotes.

Watch the latest installments of UnRapped, our informational video series designed to break down various topics related to the upcoming bond and VATRE election.

The Board of Trustees met for the regularly scheduled Board Meeting on Monday, Oct. 17. In honor of National Principal Recognition Month, our campus principals were recognized with a special video from staff, students and Board members. IT professionals were also honored for their tireless work for our district, and Coyote Ridge Elementary School led the Pledge of Allegiance. Click HERE for the full recap.

Dr. Bonner shares a message to the community, reflecting on his goals as a trustee. Click the button below to watch, and visit the LISD Board Blog for additional Board spotlights.

Governor Greg Abbott called for a special session that began October 9 to address school funding issues and education savings accounts, otherwise known as vouchers.

At Monday night's board meeting, the LISD Board of Trustees took action to adopt a special session legislative priority related to public school funding. "We implore the Governor to include public school funding and an increase to the basic allotment to the call of the Special Session." Read the full priority at LISD.net/legislative.

LISD supports an increase to the Basic Allotment and addressing the unfunded mandates placed on Texas public schools. Full access to adequate funding for all school districts is critical to providing adequate programs that meet student needs.

Public dollars require public accountability. Texas public schools are held to rigorous accountability standards. Private schools do not have the same standards and requirements. Ensuring any diversion of public funds to a non-publicly accountable individual and/or institution will require compliance with all state accountability measures and requirements already placed on public schools.

1. Share what you've learned with your circle of influence.
2. Share positive stories happening in LISD on social media.
3. Determine who represents you (lisd.net/reps)
4. Make phone calls or write emails/letters to your elected officials.

Diverting taxpayer funds to vouchers and not providing an increase to the basic allotment for public schools impacts all of our children in our schools. Contact your legislators this week to make your voice heard for Texas Public Schools.

As a reminder, the LISD community now has access to our new Lewisville ISD app. The app gives families access to grades, attendance, lunch menus, bus routes, emergency notifications…and more!

Click HERE to download on the Apple App Store and HERE to download on the Google Play Store. Or search "Lewisville ISD" in either app store.

LISD’s Feeder Pattern Newsletters unite the communities that make up LISD by sharing the great stories happening in our schools. Though you’ll receive your feeder pattern’s newsletter each quester, you can also visit LISD.net/Newsletters to see the newsletters from the other communities. After all, whether you’re a Jaguar, Hawk, Farmer, Marauder or Cougar - we are all One LISD!

This program gives our staff and community members the opportunity to highlight the exceptional work of our staff here at LISD. Visit LISD.net/Recognize to highlight a fellow staff member today!

We are committed to building positive partnerships between staff and communities with clear communication. As the school year starts, we want to remind families of our LISD Communication Commitments.

This month's commitment is: Please allow 24 hours for teachers to acknowledge that they have received your communication. To view the Communication Flow, click HERE.

We have had a blast celebrating homecoming at all of our high schools! Visit any high school Facebook page for pictures of the festivities, and visit LISD.net for full recaps of the celebrations.

This summer, Fashion & Interior Design teacher Abby Winston set her sights on breaking the Guinness World Record for largest homecoming mum, and after nine weeks of careful planning, crafting and engineering, her students are on the way to putting their names in the record books.

At this season's Dallas Cowboys home opener, TECC West's Culinary Team served up their award-winning food for spectators to enjoy. Last year the TECC-W Culinary Team competed in the Taste of the Cowboys Challenge, where students had 75 minutes to make an appetizer, an entree and a dessert for the judges. Their fajita cone entree wow-ed judges, and is what they served 200 fans at AT&T Stadium. READ MORE