Superintendent Devin Padavil announced his decision to delay the opening of Jessie Daniel Ames Elementary and Middle School No. 5 at a Feb. 2 board meeting. (Chloe Young/Community Impact)
Georgetown ISD will no longer open its 12th elementary school and fifth middle school this fall.
Instead, the district will delay the opening of both campuses until the 2027-28 school year, GISD Superintendent Devin Padavil said at a Feb. 2 board meeting. Padavil’s decision comes as the district looks to reduce a mounting budget shortfall amid slowed enrollment growth.
“Ultimately, these schools belong to the community, and in addition to protecting their resources and the finances they provide us, we also have to make sure we're making wise decisions with their schools,” Padavil said.
Additionally, the board may call a voter-approval tax rate election in November to increase the district’s rate and open enrollment outside of the district to generate more revenue, district officials said.
At a Jan. 12 workshop, district officials said GISD was projected to face a $1.75 million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2026-27 if both campuses opened as planned this fall. The district would need to make $1 million-$1.5 million in budget cuts, raise class sizes and not provide raises for staff, district officials said.
By not opening any new schools in August, GISD is projected to realize a $1.86 million budget surplus next fiscal year, according to district documents shared at the Feb. 2 meeting. Opening Ames Elementary and Middle School No. 5 in the fall of 2027 will cost the district an additional $6.3 million in staff salaries, resulting in a projected $1.1 million shortfall in fiscal year 2027-28, interim Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Adix said.
The proposed budgets do not include pay raises for staff over the next three school years.
The district is still planning to open its fourth high school in the fall of 2028. GISD could choose to initially open the campus to ninth grade students before adding additional grade levels, a GISD spokesperson said.
What else?
GISD may ask voters to approve a $0.07 per $100 valuation increase to its maintenance and operations tax rate by calling a VATRE in November.
The district’s maintenance and operations tax rate is currently lower than some surrounding districts, including Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto, Leander and Liberty Hill ISDs, Adix said.
If voters approved an overall tax rate of $1.1206 per $100 valuation, GISD is projected to see a $5.3 million budget surplus next fiscal year followed by a $827,000 surplus in FY 2027-28. By FY 2028-29, the district would face a $3.8 million shortfall after receiving additional funding from the VATRE.
The district could provide a 2% pay raise for staff next school year totaling $3 million and a 1% raise costing $1.5 million in FY 2027-28, Adix said. GISD may need to consider raising class sizes at the middle and high schools and eliminating block scheduling whether or not the VATRE passes, district officials said.
Under the new tax rate, homeowners could expect to pay around $217 in additional property taxes next fiscal year based on a median home value of $450,252, according to GISD data.
School board President James Scherer said the district has exhausted ways to improve its budget before potentially going to voters for a tax rate increase. This fiscal year, the district made $3.73 million in budget cuts across campuses and district departments, including athletics and special education, to adopt a balanced budget.
“The state has failed to act consecutively,” Scherer said. “We can no longer hope and count on those guys doing something in the positive direction for public education, and so now it's, ‘What's the community's stomach and appetite to embrace public education?’”
The background
GISD has seen a slowing in its projected enrollment growth. In December 2023, the district was estimated to start the 2026-27 school year with 14,491-14,817 students, according to GISD data. Now, GISD is projected to enroll 14,095-14,201 students next school year.
The district went from gaining around 500 or more students each school year to 100 new students this school year, Padavil said.
Texas public schools receive funding based on the average number of students that attend class each day. By enrolling around 100 new students each school year, the district would bring in about $1 million in new revenue per year, Adix said.
Next school year, the district is considering opening enrollment to students living outside of GISD’s boundaries at campuses with available space. GISD is encouraging interested families to complete an online form. Families who complete the interest form will receive more information about eligible campuses and grade levels, application timelines, and selection criteria, according to district information.
The district may also begin allowing families living in the district to transfer between campuses, a GISD spokesperson said.
Updated demographic data projects that Georgetown ISD's enrollment will not grow as quickly as the district anticipated two years prior. (Chloe Young/Community Impact)
What they’re saying
“While bond funds pay for construction, they do not cover the operational costs of opening a new campus, including staffing,” Padavil said in a news release. “With slowing enrollment projections for the year ahead, it is not fiscally prudent to invest in the overhead of additional staff and resources at this time. Delaying the opening of two schools for one year is a fiscally conservative and responsible decision that allows us to preserve the ability to fund compensation increases for staff and maintain a balanced budget.”
At the Feb. 2 meeting, the board approved a new bell schedule for next school year that will shorten the instructional day by five minutes and lengthen the academic calendar by two school days for students. The change is estimated to reduce the number of bus routes needed, saving the district around $750,000 in costs, Adix said.
Under new TEA rule, closing a low-performing school becomes a less viable option to avoid state takeover
