Some context
The district adopted its 2025-26 budget in June with a $20.2 million shortfall. Additional state funding from House Bill 2 provided the district with dollars for staff raises and other mandates but could not be used to offset the shortfall, Chief Financial Officer Pete Pape said.
In light of ongoing budget struggles, Chief Operations Officer Jeremy Trimble presented three pathways to the board of trustees during the May 29 meeting that could net the district millions of dollars in savings.
What they're saying
District officials organized three town hall-style community conversations in late August with the impacted campuses.
During the Aug. 25 Cypress Elementary event, parents expressed concerns with how district officials have calculated operating capacities, enrollment projections and proposed campus repurposing, citing issues with the transparency of the process.
"The board members who are surrounding us in this room tonight asked [administration] for transparency," said a Cypress Elementary parent. "They asked you for additional data, and they asked you to make decisions with community engagement. ... I don't want to read anymore without having additional information to actually support these decisions."
Other concerns included how closing campuses could impact the special education population and overall mental health of students.
One of the revenue-generating suggestions by parents included utilizing under-enrolled campuses for programs such as paid pre-K, which Superintendent Bruce Gearing said was "on the list."
"In House Bill 2, right at the bottom of the bill, they put a clause in that pretty much prevented us from being able to do tuition-based pre-K," Gearing said. "The only way we can do it is with a private partner [who] takes 50% of revenue, and it really put us in a position where it's almost impossible for us to do."
A sneak peek
During the Sept. 9 workshop meeting, Trimble said district officials will:
- Provide updates on LISD's long-range plan
- Walk through LISD's budget development process
- Look at how functional capacities of campuses are derived
- Synthesize community feedback received so far
Following the Sept. 9 meeting, the board is slated to review feedback from the community conversations Sept. 18 and vote on the optimization actions Oct. 9.
