Allen ISD’s 2026-27 budget has been adopted as district leaders continue monitoring declining student enrollment and inflationary cost increases.
The big picture
The district board of trustees voted to adopt the 2026-27 school year budget during a June 15 meeting. Tax rate approval will come later this year after the district receives certified property values, said Kyle Penn, assistant superintendent of Business and Technology.
The budget projects a $5.3 million shortfall between revenues and expenses within the district’s general fund. More than $226 million is projected in expenditures, and nearly $221 million is projected in revenues, according to the budget.
District leaders have been discussing the budget in board meetings since February. Penn presented another look at the budget and factors driving budgetary decisions one more time before board members approved it.
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
The student nutrition and debt services funds are projected to balance expenses and revenues. The student nutrition fund is projecting about $8.6 million in revenue and the same amount in expenses. The debt service fund is projecting about $94.6 million in revenue and the same amount in expenses.
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.
One factor in the projected revenue decrease is an expected decrease in student enrollment, Penn said.
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.
Expenditures account for a pay raise approved by the board in May, though there was a reduction in total number of positions as vacant positions were absorbed, Penn said. Increases in district operations were driven by cost-of-fuel increases for transportation and payroll increases, he said.
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
The tax rate could change based on certified values received from the Collin County Central Appraisal District and the maximum compressed tax rate set by the Texas Education Agency, Penn said.
“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.
