Beard Elementary is a Texas Exemplary Campus, with dedicated teachers and staff who provide outstanding education to our children. However, due to district funding shortages, our school has lost two key teachers for the 2025–2026 school year. As a result, Beard must now share STEM and Music teachers with another campus. This change has already reduced instructional time—for example, music lessons have dropped from once every 6 days to once every 8 days, which equals a 25% reduction in instructional hours.

Furthermore, 2023-2024 TEA data shows that Beard’s student–teacher ratio was already 16.7, significantly higher than both the NISD average of 14.5 and the ratios at our sister schools (Aue 14.4, Helotes 13.5, Kuentz 11.7, Los Reyes 12.7, May 13.5, Steubing 11.6). This demonstrates that Beard teachers were already overburdened even before the most recent cuts. Losing two more teachers in 2025–2026 will only worsen this imbalance, further undermining educational equity and opportunities for our children.

We urge NISD and our elected officials to:

• Ensure Beard’s student–teacher ratio is aligned with the NISD average and sister campuses.
• Maintain fairness by aligning Beard’s STEM, Art, and Music instructional frequency with other NISD elementary schools or by preserving the prior schedule.
• Provide transparency and solutions for how educational quality will be maintained despite funding challenges.

Our children deserve fair and equal opportunities to learn and thrive. As taxpayers and community members, we ask that you stand with us in protecting the future of education at Bob Beard Elementary.

Sincerely,
Parents from Bob Beard Elementary