Board considers next year’s budget
School’s out, but there’s still a lot of school business to take care of. Arlington ISD’s Board of Trustees meeting on June 17, 2025, is in the books, and here are a few of the highlights.
Bianca Knight, a rising seventh grader at Shackelford Junior High, started the meeting by leading the board in the pledges of allegiance, and she did a great job.
Bianca just finished sixth grade at Butler Elementary and was a member of the school’s Destination Imagination team that qualified for the world 
championships in Kansas City last month. In fact, Arlington ISD had four DI teams make it to the world finals, including Bianca’s Butler team, a team from Corey Academy and two teams from Gunn Junior High. All four were honored by the trustees at the meeting. Congrats to these inspiring students!
Later the board heard a report from the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. The CBOC is a group of 11 community members appointed by the Board of Trustees to provide findings and recommendations to the Board relating to the 2019 Bond program, a $966 million capital program that includes new construction, renovations and facility condition improvements, along with capital purchases for technology, fine arts and transportation. The committee meets quarterly to assess bond progress and expenditures and to tour bond-funded construction projects. Then they develop an annual report with their findings and recommendations. Watch the full board meeting to hear the report or visit the CBOC webpage in the coming days to read the presentation.
Continuing on the topic of the 2019 Bond, the board also received an update on construction progress from Kelly Horn, assistant superintendent for facility services. Some of the project highlights discussed included the future Rodriguez Junior High School and Glaspie Field, which are both now entering the final stages of construction. Another project that Horn highlighted – the future Arlington ISD Support Center building – is just getting started and will house the transportation, security and health services departments.
The board also spent time considering the 2025-2026 budget for the general fund, debt service fund, capital projects fund and food service fund. The new fiscal year for Arlington ISD starts on July 1, so the board will finalize and approve the budget very soon.
Finally, the trustees re-approved an interlocal agreement that the district has with Tarrant County College and the Arlington Fire Department. These partners help Arlington ISD offer its outstanding Fire Academy program for 11th and 12th graders. The academy provides a rigorous academic model and curriculum that gives students the opportunity to earn their Basic Fire Fighter’s certificate and dual credit.
Those are just a few of the highlights from the busy meeting. If you would like more details on any of these, or any of the items not covered in this Board Brief, please click here to watch the entire meeting.