District overview
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
Detroit ISD runs Detroit Elementary, a middle school and Detroit High School, plus a Head Start program, in the small town of Detroit in Red River County, northeast Texas. About 460 students enroll. Texas pays districts mainly by how many students attend each day, so falling attendance means less money. In 2026-27 the district expects $6.89 million from the state and $1.09 million from local property taxes. A local tax also pays off bonds from 2016 and 2018.
The 2026-27 budget spends more than it takes in, after a $22,707 surplus in 2025-26.
Budgeted at 403 students a day in 2026-27, down from 445 a year earlier.
The elementary school is under a turnaround plan, and the district has a TEA conservator.
Jeff Ballard has been interim superintendent since December 2025; a search for a permanent one began in October 2026.
The district earned a 100% state financial integrity (FIRST) rating for 2024-25, and staff said savings stay above three months of costs even with the deficit.
Up from a $22,707 surplus in the 2025-26 budget.
Set at $0.9118 for 2026 (September 14, 2026 meeting).
Board goal: 74% by 2031.
About $9.19 million in general and food-service spending divided by 403 budgeted average daily attendance.
A state-required plan after low ratings: the Bluebonnet reading and math curriculum, a school-improvement consultant, a math interventionist, an instructional coach and monthly progress reports to the board.
General fund and grants
The board is choosing a search firm to replace interim superintendent Jeff Ballard.
General fund
The 2026-27 calendar has 165 instructional days over five-day weeks, replacing the four-day week.
Operating budget
The middle and high school will report to the state as one campus, letting the district share administrators and counselors over time.
Expected savings through attrition
Detroit Independent School District
The terms of trustees Dylan Stringer and Jennifer Hulen end in May 2027, so their seats are expected on the ballot at Texas's May 1, 2027 uniform election. The board has not yet ordered the election; in 2026 it did so in February, with filing in January and February.
Official source · verified Oct 29, 2026
33 official records from October 2025 to October 2026: 11 board meeting recordings (machine-transcribed), adopted budgets for 2025-26 and 2026-27, district and campus improvement plans, board resolutions, the May 2026 election papers, the interim superintendent contract, tax rate history, and the 2026-27 student handbook and code of conduct.
We read every agenda, packet, recording, and set of minutes, and write up the decisions that affect families — each one linked to the document it came from.
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