What’s on the ballot in November?

Q1: What ballot measures on the November 2025 Ballot may affect my tax bill?

Q2: What are the state tax propositions?

Q3: What is the BISD Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE)?

How could the different ballot measures affect my tax bill?

Q4: If passed, how will the state propositions affect my property taxes?

Q5: If passed, how will BISD’s Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) affect my taxes?

Q6: In general, if both state propositions and BISD’s VATRE pass, how will this affect my tax bill?

What is “Recapture”?

Q7: What is “Recapture”?

Q8: How does Recapture work?

Q9: What are “Golden Pennies”?

Q10: Do Golden Pennies protect Boerne ISD local tax revenue from Recapture?

Q11: How much has Boerne ISD paid to the state of Texas in Recapture?

Q12: When was the last time Boerne ISD paid Recapture?

Q13: Is Recapture gone for good?

How do Boerne ISD Property Taxes Work?

Q14: What are the Boerne ISD Maintenance and Operations (M&O) and Interest and Sinking (I&S) tax rates?

Q15: How much does Boerne ISD levy in property taxes?

Q16: How does Boerne ISD’s tax levy per-student compare to other districts?

Q17: How does Boerne ISD’s combined tax rate compare to other districts?

How well is Boerne ISD Funded?

Q18: How does the state determine district funding?

Q19: How does the state’s funding method affect Boerne ISD?

Q20: Is Boerne ISD one of the lowest funded school districts per-student in Texas?

Q21: Compared to all districts in the state, how do districts neighboring Boerne ISD rank in per-student funding?

Q22: Why does Boerne ISD, even though its taxpayers pay more in taxes than most districts and have property values higher than most districts, obtain less per-student funding than most districts?

Q23: What would Boerne ISD’s tax rate have to be to obtain per-student funding comparable to a smaller neighboring district like Comfort ISD?

What is in the Boerne ISD Budget?

Q24: What are the major components of the Boerne ISD budget?

Q25: What is the district’s current debt level?

Q26: How do Boerne ISD teacher salaries compare to neighboring districts?

Q27: How do Boerne ISD administrator salaries compare to neighboring districts?

Q28: Is the VATRE the only way for Boerne ISD to raise teacher and staff compensation relative to other districts?

Does Boerne ISD Have High Teacher Turnover?

Q29: What is teacher turnover?

Q30: Does Boerne ISD have a high teacher turnover rate?

Q31: How has Boerne ISD’s teacher turnover rate changed in the last 10 years?

Q32: How does Boerne ISD’s teacher turnover rate compare with neighboring districts?

Q33: Last year, did 1 in 5 teachers leave Boerne ISD for higher-paying districts?

Q34: Are teachers leaving Boerne ISD because of low pay?

What’s on the ballot in November?

Q1: What ballot measures on the November 2025 Ballot may affect my tax bill?

There are two state constitutional amendments1 and one local school district property tax measure2 on the ballot that may affect your property tax bill.

  • State Proposition 11 (State constitutional amendment increasing homestead exemption for elderly / disabled). Could only lower a homeowner’s tax levy.
  • State Proposition 13 (State constitutional amendment increasing homestead exemption). Could only lower a homeowner’s tax levy.
  • Boerne ISD Voter-Approved Tax Ratification Election (VATRE) (Election to increase the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate for Boerne ISD taxpayers). Could only increase a homeowner’s tax levy.

Q2: What are the state tax propositions?

  • Proposition 11 – Elderly/Disabled Homestead Exemption Increase
    • “This amendment would authorize the Legislature to raise the additional school property tax exemption for elderly and disabled homeowners from $10,000 to $60,000. The increased exemption would reduce school district taxes for qualifying individuals and would be offset by state funds to maintain district funding levels.”3
  • Proposition 13 – Homestead Exemption Increase
    • “This amendment would raise the school district property tax exemption on homesteads from $100,000 to $140,000, reducing taxable home values and offering tax relief to homeowners. The state would reimburse school districts for the resulting loss in revenue.”4

Q3: What is the BISD Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE)?

  • This is a ballot measure for taxpayers of Boerne ISD to permit the district to raise the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate by $0.03 from $0.66690 per $100 of home value to $0.69690 per $100 of home value.5
  • The $0.03 tax increase would come from “Golden Pennies”, which are generally not subject to recapture by the state, meaning the revenue generated from the $0.03 tax rate increase would stay with Boerne ISD.
  • If this measure passes, the Boerne ISD board has committed to also reduce the Interest and Sinking (I&S) tax rate by $0.01.
  • The net school property tax increase from passing the Boerne ISD VATRE would be $0.02 per $100 of home value, yielding a combined tax rate of $1.0109 per $100 of home value.

How could the different ballot measures affect my tax bill?

Q4: If passed, how will the state propositions affect my property taxes?

  • Both Proposition 11 and Proposition 13, by themselves, can only lower your property tax burden since they increase a homeowner’s homestead tax exemption. The maximum tax levy reduction for an under-65 homeowner would be about $400 and about $900 for an over-65 homeowner with a frozen tax levy.
  • The maximum tax reduction applies to homeowners whose apprasied home value equals their market value. For under-65 homeowners whose appraised value is less than market value (e.g. the 10% cap annual homestead appraisal increase has kept the appraised value less than market), the taxpayer could see either a reduction or increase in tax burden depending on whether the increase in appraised valued exceeded the additional homestead exemption.
  • Over-65 homeowners cannot realize an increase in their home property tax, even if their appraised value is less than market value, since their tax levy is capped/frozen by state law.

  • Example: An under-65 homeowner whose 2024 Appraised Value = Market Value who realize ~$400 property tax levy decrease.
    • Home Market Value = Appraised Value = $500,000
    • Approximate Boerne ISD Combined Tax Rate (~$1.00/$100 of home value) means ~$100 of tax reduction for every $10,000 in homestead exemption
    • Proposition 13 provides an additional $40,000 of homestead exemption, so ~$400 in tax savings.
  • Example: An over-65 homeowner whose 2024 Appraised Value = Market Value who realizes ~$900 property tax levy decrease.
    • Home Market Value = Appraised Value = $500,000
    • Approximate Boerne ISD Combined Tax Rate (~$1.00/$100 of home value) means ~$100 of tax reduction for every $10,000 in homestead exemption
    • Proposition 13 provides an additional $40,000 and Proposition 11 provides an additional $50,000 of homestead exemption (total $90,000) so ~$900 in tax savings.

Q5: If passed, how will BISD’s Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) affect my taxes?

  • Boerne ISD’s VATRE is a proposed raise in the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate, which is necessarily a tax increase. There is no outcome where the Boerne ISD VATRE, by itself, would lower any taxpayer’s property tax burden.
  • The tax increase for the combined tax rate (M&O + I&S) from the Boerne ISD VATRE will be $0.02 per $100 of home value ($0.03 increase for M&O, $0.01 decrease for I&S), which equals a tax levy increase of $2 for every $10,000 of taxable value for a residence, or about $100 for a home with $500,000 in taxable value.

Q6: In general, if both state propositions and BISD’s VATRE pass, how will this affect my tax bill?

  • If all initiatives pass, both state propositions and the Boerne ISD VATRE, a homeowner’s tax bill would likely decrease. The effect of the state’s tax reductions through increased homestead exemptions would be greater than the effect of BISD’s tax increase for most taxpayers.
  • The maximum possible tax reduction from the state propositions will be about $400 for under-65 taxpayers and $900 for over-65 taxpayers, though under-65 taxpayers with homes where the appraised value is less than the market value could see significantly less savings or even a tax levy increase.
  • The tax increase from the Boerne ISD VATRE will be $0.02 per $100 of taxable home value, or $100 for a residence with $500,000 of taxable home value.

What is “Recapture”?

Q7: What is “Recapture”?

  • Chapter 48, Texas Education Code, Section 48.2576 : “…makes provisions for certain school districts to share their local tax revenue with other school districts. These provisions are sometimes referred to as ‘share the wealth’ or ‘Robin Hood’ plan because recaptured funds are redistributed by the school finance system to assist with the financing of public education for all school districts.”7
  • In short, “recapture” is a process where the state takes local property tax revenue from one school district and redistributes it to other school districts.

Q8: How does Recapture work?

  • “Each year, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) calculates a district’s wealth per student by dividing the district’s taxable property value by its average daily attendance (ADA). If a district’s wealth per student exceeds a certain threshold, known as the “equalized wealth level,” it is required to send the excess revenue to the state. The state then redistributes these funds to lower-wealth districts, helping to level the playing field.”8

Q9: What are “Golden Pennies”?

  • “Golden pennies are the first eight pennies of tax effort a district assesses above its MCR (maximum compressed tax rate). These pennies are called golden because they are the pennies of tax effort for which a district can generate the highest level of enrichment funding.”9
  • “…golden pennies are not subject to excess local revenue (recapture). Most school districts can access four of the eight pennies at the discretion of the local school board. Because of restrictions in the Texas Tax Code, access to the fifth golden penny requires unanimous board vote beginning with tax year 2020. The remaining three golden pennies require voter approval.”10

Q10: Do Golden Pennies protect Boerne ISD local tax revenue from Recapture?

Yes. “…golden pennies are not subject to excess local revenue (recapture). Most school districts can access four of the eight pennies at the discretion of the local school board. Because of restrictions in the Texas Tax Code, access to the fifth golden penny requires unanimous board vote beginning with tax year 2020. The remaining three golden pennies require voter approval.”11


Q11: How much has Boerne ISD paid to the state of Texas in Recapture?

Since the 2006-2007 school year, Boerne ISD has paid $112,243,886 in Equity Transfers, i.e. “Recapture” payments.


Q12: When was the last time Boerne ISD paid Recapture?

  • The 2022-2023 school year was the last year Boerne ISD paid recapture to the state.12
  • No recapture payment is expected for the current 2025-2026 school year.13

Q13: Is Recapture gone for good?

No. The state assigns recapture payments based on the property wealth of a district relative to its enrollment. If Boerne ISD’s property wealth relative to enrollment increased, e.g. through slower enrollment growth, increases in taxable values, etc., the district could fall back into recapture.


How do Boerne ISD Property Taxes Work?

Q14: What are the Boerne ISD Maintenance and Operations (M&O) and Interest and Sinking (I&S) tax rates?

Most public school districts’ combined property tax rates are the sum of two distinct tax rates: Maintenance and Operations (M&O) and Interest and Sinking (I&S).

  • The M&O tax rate funds daily operations of a district, e.g. salaries and educational programs.
  • The I&S tax rate funds debt, e.g. bond payments.
  • Boerne ISD’s current (2024) M&O tax rate is $0.6669 and its current I&S tax rate is $0.324 for a combined tax rate $0.9909 per $100 of home value.
  • Boerne ISD’s tax rate for 2025, given that the VATRE passes, would be a M&O tax rate of $0.6969 and an I&S tax rate of $0.314 for a combined tax rate $1.0109 per $100 of home value.

Q15: How much does Boerne ISD levy in property taxes?

For 2024, Boerne ISD adopted a combined M&O and I&S tax rate of $0.9909 per $100 and had a total taxable value of property values of $11,586,681,091 which resulted in a calculated total tax levy of $114,812,422 or $10,582.77 per enrolled student.


Q16: How does Boerne ISD’s tax levy per-student compare to other districts?

  • For 2024, Boerne ISD levied $10,582.77 in property taxes per enrolled student.
  • Boerne ISD compared to all districts: 77th percentile.
    • 100th percentile would be the highest levy per student
  • Boerne ISD compared to similar-sized districts: 85th percentile.
    • 100th percentile would be the highest levy per student
    • “Similar-sized” is defined as districts with enrollment between 9,000 and 12,000 students.
  • Compared to neighboring districts, Boerne ISD had a higher levy per student than Blanco ISD, Comal ISD, Comfort ISD and a lower levy per student than Bandera ISD, North East ISD, Northside ISD (Bexar).
    • “Neighboring districts” is defined as all public school districts that share a border with Boerne ISD: Bandera, Blanco, Comal, Comfort, North East, and Northside ISDs.


Q17: How does Boerne ISD’s combined tax rate compare to other districts?

  • For 2024, Boerne ISD had a combined tax rate of $0.9909 per $100 of taxable home value.
  • Boerne ISD compared to all districts: 52nd percentile.
    • 100th percentile would be the highest levy per student
  • Compared to neighboring districts, Boerne ISD had a higher tax rate than Bandera ISD, Blanco ISD, Comfort ISD and a lower levy per student than Comal ISD, North East ISD, Northside ISD (Bexar).
    • “Neighboring districts” is defined as all public school districts that share a border with Boerne ISD: Bandera, Blanco, Comal, Comfort, North East, and Northside ISDs.


How well is Boerne ISD Funded?

Q18: How does the state determine district funding?

Note from Joe: Texas public school finance is complex and can seem impenetrable. This question is my attempt to provide a basic conceptual framework on how the state decides to allocate funds to school districts that might help people not familiar with the process and provide a simple framework to refer to in different FAQ questions.

This overview is not a comprehensive and exhaustive overview of Texas public school finance, and purposefully does not always use the same terminology used by the state (which can make things even more confusing). The Texas Education Agency (TEA) provides a detailed, though still not comprehensive, overview of Texas public school finance on their website: Texas Public School Finance Overview.

How the State Determines What a District’s Funding Should Be

The state, not local school boards, decides how much funding a district will receive (or retain in the case of property wealthy districts). Local boards do have a few options, like tax elections, to generate additional revenue, but these options only have a marginal effect on the relative funding level of a district.

The state calculates how much funding a district should receive by combining a Basic Allotment that every student in the state is obligated to receive along with Additional Funds based on characteristics of the district and its student population.

The state will also reduce the funding a district would receive from local property tax revenue (i.e. “Recapture”) if the district’s tax revenue exceeds what the state has determined the district should receive in funding (i.e. “excess revenue”). However, the state will not permit a district with excess revenue to lower it’s tax rate, but instead requires the district to give the excess revenue to the state.

What the State Adds to a District’s Funding

  • Basic Allotment14 Funds
    • A minimum guaranteed funding level for the basic education of each student.
    • Currently set at $6,160.
  • Additional Funds for:
    • Low Property Wealth Districts
      • Funds for districts whose taxable property values are low and therefore yield low tax revenue relative to other districts.
    • Smaller Districts
      • Funds for smaller districts whose costs tend to be higher than those of larger districts because of economies of scale.
    • Special Populations
      • Funds to provide additional resources for specific groups.
      • E.g. Students requiring special education, who are economically disadvantaged, who are limited English proficient etc.
    • Special Programs
      • Funds to provide additional resources for specific district activities and educational programs.
      • E.g. Career and Technology Education (CTE), teacher incentives, school safety, etc.

What the State Reduces from a District’s Funding

  • Recapture Payments:
    • Funds taken from local property tax revenue in school districts with high property values and redistributed to other school districts.

Q19: How does the state’s funding method affect Boerne ISD?

By design, the state’s current funding method guarantees that Boerne ISD will be one of the lower per-student funded districts in Texas, since the district does not qualify for funding allocated for low property wealth districts or smaller districts and has a relatively small proportion of students for whom the state assigns additional funds.

  • Boerne ISD’s 2024 Property Wealth Relative to Other Districts: 77th Percentile.
    • In 2024, Edgewood ISD (Bexar County) had $289,609 in taxable property value per student, which puts them in the 10th percentile relative to other districts. In 2024, Boerne ISD had $1,067,995 in taxable value per student.
  • Boerne ISD’s 2024 Enrollment Relative to Other Districts: 90th Percentile.
    • In 2024, 52% of Texas public school districts had less than 1,000 enrolled students.
    • In 2024, Comfort ISD had 1,090 enrolled students which put them in the 55th percentile, and Northside ISD (Bexar) had 100,600 which put them in the 100th percentile relative to other districts. Boerne ISD had 10,849 enrolled students.
  • Boerne ISD’s 2024 Proportion of Low-Income Students Relative to Other Districts: 6th Percentile.
    • In 2024, 93% of Edgewood ISD’s (Bexar County) student population were economically disadvanted which put them in the 97th percentile, and 53% of Comfort ISD’s student population were economically disadvanted which put them in the 34th percentile relative to other districts. Boerne ISD had 21% economically disadvantaged students.

Q20: Is Boerne ISD one of the lowest funded school districts per-student in Texas?

  • Compared to all districts in the state, regardless of size or demographics, in 2024 Boerne ISD was in the 1st percentile of funding per-student by total general fund operating revenue (100th percentile is highest funded).
  • Compared to similar-sized districts (9,000 - 12,000 students), in 2024 Boerne ISD was in the 7th percentile of funding per-student.
  • Compared to districts with a similar proportion of economically disadvantaged students (10% - 30%), in 2024 Boerne ISD was in the 8th percentile of funding per-student.
  • Compared to similar-sized districts with a similar proportion of economically disadvantaged students, in 2024 Boerne ISD was in the 67th percentile of funding per-student.

Q21: Compared to all districts in the state, how do districts neighboring Boerne ISD rank in per-student funding?

  • 2024 percentile of funding per-student by total general fund operating revenue for Boerne ISD neighboring districts, compared to all districts in the state (100th percentile is highest funded):
    • Bandera ISD: 14th percentile
    • Blanco ISD: 48th percentile
    • Boerne ISD: 1st percentile
    • Comal ISD: 2nd percentile
    • Comfort ISD: 60th percentile
    • North East ISD: 4th percentile
    • Northside ISD: 5th percentile

Q22: Why does Boerne ISD, even though its taxpayers pay more in taxes than most districts and have property values higher than most districts, obtain less per-student funding than most districts?

  • The state funding formula explicitly reduces per-student funding as enrollment increases, and Boerne ISD is the top 10% of districts by enrollment in the state.
  • Funding is also tied to populations that are represented with relatively low proportions in Boerne ISD compared to other districts, e.g. low-income families.
  • If local tax revenue exceeds what the state determines a district should receive, the excess funds are taken by the state and redistributed to other districts.


Q23: What would Boerne ISD’s tax rate have to be to obtain per-student funding comparable to a smaller neighboring district like Comfort ISD?

  • In 2024, Comfort ISD obtained $13,210.90 compared to Boerne ISD’s $8,981.25 in General Fund revenue per enrolled student.
  • Hypothetically, to achieve the same level of per-student funding in 2024 Boerne ISD would have had to have raised its combined tax rate as much as $0.86 from $0.9909 to $1.85 per $100 of taxable home value and would have been the most heavily taxed school district in the state.
  • However, state law prevents local districts like Boerne ISD from raising the tax rate from anywhere near that high. There is no method under current school funding for Boerne ISD to obtain a simialr per-student funding level to smaller districts like Comfort ISD.

What is in the Boerne ISD Budget?

Q24: What are the major components of the Boerne ISD budget?

For 2025-2026, Boerne ISD adopted a projected balanced budget of $116,540,000 in revenue and appropriations. Over 80% of Boerne ISD’s budget was appropriated to 5 areas:15
  • Instructional ($66,733,367, 57%): Core expenses for classroom activities, including teacher salaries.
  • Plant Services ($12,973,677, 11%): Management, operation, and maintenance of all school facilities.
  • School Administration ($6,478,884, 6%): Expenses covering activities like principal and campus-level administrative staff salaries and other operational expenses for campuses.
  • Counseling ($4,859,971, 4%): Expenses, incluing salaries, associated with providing school counseling services.
  • General Administration ($3,941,154, 3%): Expenses, including salaries, for the overall management and governance of the school district.

Q25: What is the district’s current debt level?

Boerne ISD has approximately $388,700,000 in outstanding principal for bonded indebtedness.16


Q26: How do Boerne ISD teacher salaries compare to neighboring districts?

  • For the 2024-2025 school year, across all grade levels, Boerne ISD teachers averaged $59,491 in base pay.
  • On average, Boerne ISD teacher base pay was $1,300 less than neighboring districts.
  • Boerne ISD teacher base pay was higher than Blanco and Comfort ISDs, but lower than Bandera, Comal, Northside (Bexar), and North East ISDs.
  • Notes:
    • Base pay does not include additional compensation like stipends. Relative compensation could be different if non-base-pay compensation was included. These data are not readily publicly available.
    • Average base pay does not account for seniority. Salaries tend to increase with tenure.


Q27: How do Boerne ISD administrator salaries compare to neighboring districts?

  • All administrative staff (principals, assistant principals, directors, managers, instructional coaches, etc.):
    • For the 2024-2025 school year, across all positions, Boerne ISD administrative staff averaged $89,391 in base pay.
    • On average, Boerne ISD administrative staff base pay was $3,242 less than neighboring districts.
    • Boerne ISD administrative staff base pay was higher than Bandera and Comal ISDs, but lower than Blanco, Comfort, Northside (Bexar), and North East ISDs.
  • Principals:
    • For the 2024-2025 school year, across all positions, Boerne ISD principals averaged $100,338 in base pay.
    • On average, Boerne ISD principals’ base pay was $3,462 more than neighboring districts.
    • Boerne ISD principals’ average base pay was higher than Bandera, Blanco, Comal, and Comfort ISDs, but lower than Northside (Bexar) and North East ISDs.
  • Assistant Principals:
    • For the 2024-2025 school year, across all positions, Boerne ISD assisstant principals averaged $80,576 in base pay.
    • On average, Boerne ISD assistant principals’ base pay was $1,432 more than neighboring districts.
    • Boerne ISD assisstant principals’ average base pay was higher than Bandera, Blanco, Comal, Comfort, and North East ISDs, but lower than Northside (Bexar) ISD.
  • Superintendent:
    • For the 2024-2025 school year, the Boerne ISD superintendent received $230,735 in base pay.
    • On average, the Boerne ISD superintendent’s base pay was $11,711 less than neighboring districts.
    • The Boerne ISD superintendent’s base pay was higher than Bandera, Blanco, and Comfort ISDs, but lower than Comal, Northside (Bexar), and North East ISDs.
  • NOTES:
    • Base pay does not include additional compensation like stipends, vehicle or phone reimbursement, or other non-salary compensation. Relative compensation could be different if non-base-pay compensation was included. These data are not readily and publicly available.
    • Average base pay does not account for seniority. Salaries tend to increase with tenure.


Q28: Is the VATRE the only way for Boerne ISD to raise teacher and staff compensation relative to other districts?

In order to have more funds to to increase compensation relative to other districts, Boerne ISD either has to increase revenue (taxes) or cut expenses in non-payroll areas of their budget. Instructional expenses (i.e. core expenses for classroom activities, including teacher salaries) account for $66,733,367 (57%) of Boerne ISD’s 2025-2026 budget.17

Note from Joe: All options to increase pay relative to other districts come at a cost. What options seem best will likely differ from person to person depending on their subjective goals, values, etc. I have tried to give an unbiased explanation of some options that people have asked me about, but I’m sure there are many other options I haven’t considered.

  • Options to Increase Revenue:
    • “Golden Pennies”
      • Description: A special type of a district’s M&O tax rate that the state permits a district to levy, up to a maximum $0.08. The VATRE is an election to permit increasing the M&O tax rate by the remaining $0.03 of this type of tax rate available to the district.
      • Pros: Golden pennies are the most efficient element of a school district’s M&O tax rate. They yield a higher guaranteed revenue per penny than the “regular” portion of the M&O tax rate, and tax revenue from golden pennies is not subject to recapture (the funds stay within the district).
      • Cons: Due to high property values, even with the current M&O tax rate relatively low compared to other districts, in 2024 Boerne ISD property owners were in the 85th percentile of property tax levied per-student across all districts ($10,582.77). The additional rate $0.03 per $100 of property value from the VATRE would exacerbate this disparity.
  • Options to Reduce Expenses:
    • Eliminate Block Scheduling
      • Description: Boerne ISD uses block scheduling, where students have 8 class periods but only attend 4 periods a day and each day alternating which periods they attend. Traditional scheduling entails a student enrolling for 7 or 8 class periods and attending each class every day.
      • Pros:
        • Block scheduling provides longer class sessions (90 minutes vs ~50 minutes for a traditional schedule) and a day gap in between class sessions.
        • Some teachers, parents, and students prefer this schedule because it provides: longer continuous classrooms sessions, more time inbetween homework assignments being due, and more administrative time for teachers.
      • Cons:
        • Block scheduling is significantly more expensive than traditional scheduling.
        • There is no evidence that block scheduling improves academic outcomes.
        • Block scheduling makes it more difficult to accomodate student course requests and can lead to disparities in class size for particular courses.
        • In districts with block scheduling that “double block” programs like athletics (i.e. an athletic program that takes up 2 of a student’s 8 class sections so they can attend it every day), these programs take up 25% of a student’s instructional time at the expense of other classes. Boerne ISD double blocks several programs, including football, basketball, and band.
    • Eliminate Intra-Campus Bussing
      • Description: Boerne ISD permits all high school students, regardless of campus, to participate in any district program. Since some programs are only offered at one high school (e.g. ROTC, Robotics, Culinary Arts, PTech, etc.), the district busses students between the high schools every day for programs they want to be enrolled in, but are not offered at their home campus.
      • Pros:
        • All students have equal access to all district programs, regardless of where they live or which school they attend.
      • Cons:
        • Bussing students between campuses is an additional cost.
        • Bussing students between campuses reduces effective instructional time.
        • Limiting access to programs to those only offered at the high school a student attends requires students to pick a high school based on those programs.

Does Boerne ISD Have High Teacher Turnover?

Q29: What is teacher turnover?

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) produces an annual Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) for all school districts that includes a “Turnover Rate” for teachers. This rate is calculated as the proportion of teachers in a district who either left the district or moved to a non-teaching job within the district. This includes teachers who left for health reasons, retirement, to exit the teaching profession, higher pay, a career change, promotion, or other reasons.18


Q30: Does Boerne ISD have a high teacher turnover rate?

  • Boerne ISD’s 2024-2025 teacher turnover rate was about 18%.19
  • Statewide, in 2024-2025 the teacher turnover rate was about 18%.20

Q31: How has Boerne ISD’s teacher turnover rate changed in the last 10 years?

  • From 2016-2023, Boerne ISD had a stable teacher turnover rate that averaged 14.5% turnover each year.
  • 2015 was the lowest teacher turnover rate for Boerne ISD at 8.6%.
  • In 2024, Boerne ISD saw a significant increase in teacher turnover, rising to 19.5%.


Q32: How does Boerne ISD’s teacher turnover rate compare with neighboring districts?

  • From 2018-2023, Boerne ISD had either the 2nd or 3rd lowest teacher turnover rate of all neighboring districts.
  • In 2024, Boerne ISD had a lower teacher turnover rate than Bandera, Blanco, and Comfort ISDs and a higher teacher turnover rate than North East, Northside (Bexar), and Comal ISDs.


Q33: Last year, did 1 in 5 teachers leave Boerne ISD for higher-paying districts?

  • No. While some have made this claim21, Boerne ISD has not. All official statements from the district have said something similar to “Almost 1 in 5 teachers left Boerne ISD last year, many (emphasis added) for better paying jobs.”22 Boerne ISD has not provided context for what “many” means.
  • For the claim “Last year, 1 in 5 teachers left BISD for higher-paying districts” to be true, every one of these teachers would have had to have left Boerne ISD for another teaching position in a district with higher pay, none for a teaching position with equivalent or lower pay, none for a non-teaching position in another district, none due to retirement, none for a promotion to a non-teaching position within the district, none due to a career change, none because they left the workforce, none because they needed to move for family reasons, none because they were dissatisifed with their working conditions, etc.

Q34: Are teachers leaving Boerne ISD because of low pay?

  • There is no available data to support or deny the claim that Boerne ISD teachers are leaving the district for other jobs because salaries are low relative to other districts.
  • Given that Boerne ISD salaries are low relative to some neighboring districts (e.g. Northside ISD), it is reasonable that some teachers may have left the district for this reason, however; there is no data (e.g. published data from exit interviews) that show salary is the primary factor driving teacher turnover at Boerne ISD.


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