In recent weeks, a number of inaccurate and misleading statements have been made publicly about Baird ISD, its staff, and its leadership. To the extent permitted by law, the district would like to correct some misunderstandings and provide our community with accurate information.

We would like to begin by noting some recent news. Earlier this week, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Senate Bill 10, passed by the Texas Legislature, which requires every public school in Texas to display a copy of the Ten Commandments. Those passages, found in Exodus 20:1-17, are posted on the walls of every classroom in Baird ISD. We ask our community to reflect upon these words, and in particular Exodus 20:16, and take them to heart.

School Funding in Texas
You have probably heard the terms M&O and I&S used in discussions about school funding. These terms can be confusing, but the concept is simple. School districts collect taxes for two separate purposes.

The first is for operations. This covers the day-to-day costs of running a school district, including teacher and staff salaries, transportation, utilities, instructional materials, technology, athletics, fine arts, and all programs that directly serve students.

The second is for debt service. When voters approve a bond, the district borrows money for construction and repays it through the debt service tax, similar to a mortgage. Those funds can only be used for the specific purposes voters approved.

School funding in Texas has changed dramatically over the years. For much of the twentieth century, districts were funded primarily by local property taxes. Districts with low property values sued the state, claiming this was unfair, and court rulings in the 1980s and 1990s found the system unconstitutional. The Legislature responded with what is commonly known as the "Robin Hood" system, officially called recapture.

Under recapture, the state determines how much operating revenue each district is allowed to keep based primarily on district enrollment. The rest is sent to Austin. As property values in our community have grown, much of that additional tax revenue has not stayed in Baird. Currently, Baird ISD sends approximately $250,000 per year to the state through recapture.
Many people wonder why a school district cannot simply save money over time to pay for new buildings. The answer lies in how the state funds public education.

The state funds school districts at a level that is designed to cover basic operational needs, with very little room to spare. Of the money we are allowed to keep, the state restricts how much of it can be spent on certain things, reserving specific funds for specific purposes. There is simply no significant amount left over to set aside for construction.

This is a statewide problem. In 2025, 48% of Texas school districts reported deficit budgets, and 80% reported plans to cut staff, reduce programs, or close campuses. Texas ranks 47th in the nation in per pupil funding according to the National Education Association.

Baird ISD is not among the struggling majority. We have not run a deficit budget in at least the past six years, and we have no plans to cut staff, reduce programs, or close campuses. That is not an accident. It is the result of careful, responsible financial management by our Board of Trustees and district leadership.

Tax Rates
One concern we hear from time to time is that property taxes are too high. We understand that concern, and we want to share some facts.

Over the past decade, Callahan County has experienced significant growth in property values, driven largely by the development of wind and solar energy in our area. At the same time, changes in state law have provided additional tax relief to property owners, including reductions through compression and increased homestead exemptions.

Baird ISD has taken advantage of both of these factors. Rather than maintaining high tax rates as property values grew, we have steadily lowered our tax rate. In 2016, our tax rate was $1.41 per $100 of property value. By 2025, that rate had dropped to $0.96, a reduction of nearly 32%. During that same period, we passed bonds that allowed us to build and improve facilities for our students, without reversing the downward trend in your tax rate.

Even with those bonds, our current projected rate of approximately $1.15 remains lower than any rate we charged from 2016 through 2023. In other words, the tax rate is lower than it has been for most of the past decade. While rising property values may have affected individual tax bills differently, the district has consistently worked to keep the rate as low as possible while still investing in our students and facilities.

What We Have Built Together
Over the past six years, Baird ISD has made significant investments in our facilities. These projects were made possible through voter-approved bonds and careful financial management, and they belong to this community.

Completed:

• •    A new state-of-the-art welding shop
• •    A new vocational agriculture building
• •    A new athletic workout facility
• •    A new gymnasium
• •    Renovation of the historic CCC-era rock gymnasium
• •    Artificial turf on the football field
• •    A new staff fitness facility

We are going to brag a bit about the gym.  It’s one of the finest in the state at any classification, nice enough to host basketball playoff games for much larger schools, including a girls 5A state semifinal game this year

Currently under construction, to be completed over the next two years:
•    A new vocational agriculture barn
•    A new band hall
•    A new culinary arts center
•    A new cafeteria
•    Modern science laboratories
•    A new maintenance facility

This summer, we will take delivery of five new school buses. Four of those will be activity buses, and wherever our students travel for competitions and events, those buses will be a visible symbol of community pride.

Programs and Student Success
The facilities we have built are only part of the story. What happens inside those buildings is what matters most.

Our UIL academic teams have become consistent district champions and regular competitors at the state level, where we have also brought home state titles.

Baird ISD offers a tuition-free dual credit program, and we regularly have students graduating from high school having already earned an associate's degree. Our Career and Technical 

Education programs prepare students for careers in welding, agriculture, culinary arts, and more, and last year 100% of our graduating class from Baird High School met the state requirements for Career and College Readiness. 

We have grown from one school counselor to three, ensuring that every student has access to support when they need it. We have also added curriculum and instructional support staff to help our teachers be as effective as possible in the classroom.

Investing in Our Teachers and Staff
Baird ISD has made teacher and staff compensation our top priority.

In 2018, the starting salary for a teacher in Baird ISD was $28,545. Today, that same starting salary is $40,000, an increase of nearly 40%. Our pay scale is the highest in Callahan County and compares favorably to Abilene ISD for our most experienced teachers, who can earn up to $68,250 on our base pay scale alone before any additional compensation.

Baird ISD also participates in the Teacher Incentive Allotment program, a state program that rewards teachers based on their performance and the growth of their students. Qualifying for this program is not automatic. It requires significant effort, planning, and commitment from district leadership, campus administrators, and teachers. The district attempted to qualify under prior leadership but was unsuccessful. Under the current administration, Baird ISD earned approval and has built one of the stronger TIA programs in our region. This year, 21 of our teachers earned a designation under this program, generating a total allotment of nearly $400,000 for our district. Designated teachers receive up to $18,761 in additional annual compensation through this program. The remaining 27 staff members who have not yet earned a designation will each receive approximately $2,000 from the campus portion of those funds. Over 92% of these funds go directly to staff. The remaining 8% supports the cost of running the program. None of these funds go to administrators. This program rewards excellence, supports growth, and ensures that virtually every member of our staff benefits.

Our teachers also receive a generous stipend schedule that includes signing and retention bonuses for hard to fill positions. And for each of the past three years, every employee in the district has received a $1,000 Christmas bonus.

Our Teachers Deserve More
We agree. Our teachers deserve more, and we will not pretend otherwise.

We hear often from our community the question of why we cannot simply pay teachers more. The honest answer is that we have made teacher and staff compensation a top priority, and the numbers show that. We have raised starting salaries by nearly 40%, built the highest pay scale in the county, implemented the Teacher Incentive Allotment program, and found every additional source of revenue available to us. But we are reaching the limits of what is possible under the current funding system. Without additional state funding, or the ability to keep more of our local tax dollars here in Baird, there is not much more we can do on our own.

It is also important to note that bond funds cannot be used to pay teacher salaries. Bonds can only be used for the purposes voters approved, which is construction and facilities. Paying teachers more requires operating revenue, and as we have explained, the state controls how much of that we are allowed to keep.

An Invitation
We recognize that much of the criticism directed at Baird ISD in recent weeks has come from individuals who have little or no current connection to our schools, including some who do not live in our district and some who are former employees with their own grievances. We believe the people best positioned to speak to the quality of Baird ISD are the students, parents, and community members who are part of our schools every day.

We invite you to see for yourself. Come visit our campuses. Walk through our new facilities. Watch our students in action. Attend a board meeting, which are open to the public and held monthly. Speak directly with our teachers, our principals, or our superintendent. Our doors are open.

For those who have questions about our finances, our policies, or our programs, we encourage you to ask us directly. Our financial records are public and available to anyone who requests them. We have nothing to hide and nothing to fear from an honest conversation.

We are proud of what this community has built together, and we welcome the opportunity to show you.

In Closing
Baird ISD is not a perfect institution. No school district is. But we are a district that works hard every day for our students, our staff, and this community. We are proud of what we have accomplished together, and we are committed to continuing that work.

We have tried in this document to be straightforward, factual, and fair. We have not attacked anyone by name. We have not responded in kind to those who have chosen to spread information they know to be false. We have simply told our story and let the record speak.

We invite this community to judge us by our record, and we trust that the truth will speak for itself.

To close, I’ll ask you to reflect on Proverbs 19:5, which reminds us, "A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will not go free."