Allen ISD adopts $226M general fund budget for 2026-27 school year

Changes to this year’s budget have been driven by a projected decrease in enrollment, inflationary increases for fuel and maintenance costs, and teacher raises.

Budget explained

The budget is broken down into three separate funds:

• General fund
  • Accounts for local tax revenues and expenditures related to daily operations within the district
• Student nutrition fund
  • Accounts for providing lunch and breakfast to students
• Debt service fund
  • Accounts for principal and interest payments on the district’s general obligation bonds

Breaking down the general fund

Projected revenue is falling about $4.5 million compared to the original budget adopted for the 2025-26 school year. The adjustment comes from a projected drop in local and state revenues, according to the budget.

District officials are projecting 19,575 students will be enrolled next school year, according to the staff presentation. That’s about a 2.8% decrease from the 2025-26 school year’s enrollment of 20,140 students.

Projected expenses have decreased by about $2.5 million compared to the original budget adopted for the 2025-26 school year. General fund expenditures account for faculty and staff salaries and district operations related to maintenance and transportation.

District officials are also projecting a “small increase” in recapture payment from $4 million to $4.2 million, Penn said. That’s a “best projection” because it depends on the number of students enrolled and tax values, he said.

“All of those are still to be determined,” he said.

One more thing

While board consideration is expected to come in August, district officials are currently proposing to maintain last year’s property tax rate at $1.1258 per $100 of assessed value, according to a staff presentation. The district tax rate is composed of two pieces that contribute to the general fund and debt service fund:

• Maintenance and operations rate: $0.7358
  • Used to fund daily operations and maintenance
• Interest and sinking rate: $0.3900
  • Used to fund debt obligations

“That could drop lower, but it will not go higher,” he said. “As long as it does not go higher, we do not have to repost. This one posting will account for that.”

For homes in Allen ISD with the average taxable value of $446,765, homeowners could pay $5,194.94 to the school district, according to an Allen ISD notice.