Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District

A Letter from the Board

Board members 2024-2025

Welcome to autumn in GCISD!  We have completed the first nine week grading period and are fully into the second quarter of the school year as we race on toward the holidays.  This hint of cooler air that we have enjoyed gives us a promise of the next season to come. 

The big item on the fall agenda is the upcoming VATRE (Voter Approved Tax Ratification Election) on the November 5 ballot, asking GCISD voters to consider three cents on our tax rate which will NOT be subject to recapture (Robin Hood). This will generate $6 million, which all stays here in GCISD!

A few key points you should know:

  • There are two parts to our tax rate – Interest & Sinking (I&S) which pays for bond project debt and the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) which is mostly used to pay staff salaries. The two pots of money CANNOT be mixed.

  • The Board of Trustees controls and has systematically reduced taxes in the I&S portion of the tax rate while anticipating that we could need an increase in the M&O to help us pay teachers and staff. This is needed to meet our current budget as we continue to wrangle with a 19% inflation rate and state lawmakers have not increased public education funding since 2019. 

  • We can only generate the 3 cent increase for M&O with voter approval. 

  • Currently we have the lowest tax rate that GCISD has had in more than 25 years. 

  • We have the lowest tax rate of any school district in the surrounding area. Even if the VATRE passes, we will still have the lowest tax rate in the area at .9233 (about 4 cents less than the next lowest rate which is in Carroll ISD)

  • The language that is required by law on the ballot can seem confusing. It will be listed as Proposition A, and when it says “this will result in an increase of 1.08%,” it is referring only to the M&O side of the budget. For 2024 the board was able to again decrease the tax rate on the I&S side so even if the VATRE passes the overall rate is still lower than last year’s rate. 

Please help your friends and neighbors who are not as engaged in our schools understand the facts surrounding the VATRE so they can cast an informed vote. Everyone needs to understand that if the VATRE fails and does not pass, we will all see some dramatic changes in our district. Our school district is the single largest contributing factor to the strong property value and celebrated culture of our cities. Great school districts create great communities, and we live in the Best! 

Speaking of the greatness of GCISD, for the second year in a row we have been named by Niche as the #2 district in DFW and the #4 district in the state of Texas. Niche compiles data on every school district in the nation using information from the US Department of Education such as test scores, college data, and personal reviews. We will keep working for our kids and community to remain a top district of distinction in Texas!

Your Board has been busy and dug deep into work this month.  Administrators reported on beginning of the year academic data in our core areas during a two hour morning workshop.  We also spent three hours creating and refining plans to advocate for GCISD both locally and at the state level. Board members have been and will continue to meet with representatives from Austin to advocate for GCISD as we anticipate school funding being at the top of the agenda as the 89th legislative session gets underway in January. All of public education desperately needs relief as we have not received an increase in funding since 2019. Inflation and unfunded mandates have placed demands on a shrinking budget, all while more than $30 million of GCISD’s tax dollars are taken by the state for recapture annually.

2025 Niche Best Schools Logo

Getting out and about into the community has been the best part of this season! I have seen our students and staff during the day on campus visits, at football games, tennis matches, band competitions, volleyball games, elementary school fun runs, and pep rallies. Being out among our students is life-giving to me personally and always a strong reminder of why I do the work of a Trustee. 

Mary Humphrey and other former members of GHS cheer

I have also been reminded during homecoming celebrations of the legacy we are blessed to have as we celebrated CHHS’s 28th year and GHS’s 118th year. The heritage we enjoy was especially highlighted for me during Grapevine High School Cheer’s celebration of 100 years of Mustang Spirit with the cheerleading program celebrating a century of leading the way in supporting Mustangs. Additionally, I am looking forward to honoring the 2024 Walk of Honor inductees Carolyn Frank and KayLynn Renfro at the Red Rail game in a few weeks.

Friends, it is not like this everywhere. We live in a special place.   

Thank you for pursuing our mission with your Board to “Honor our Legacy. Equip for the Future. Achieve Excellence."

I am honored to serve our kids and community,

Mary Humphrey
Vice President, Place 7
GCISD Board of Trustees