How we got here
EISD adopted its fiscal year 2024-25 budget in June with an anticipated $1.2 million shortfall. In October, that shortfall increased to $3.3 million, with lower-than-projected enrollment and certified taxable values contributing.
EISD officials said the district is considered “property-wealthy,” but is not absolved of financial challenges. Approximately $95 million of the EISD’s local property tax revenues, or 60%, is recaptured by the state each year.
Other budget trends identified by EISD officials indicate the budget is being impacted by:
- Basic allotment: The Texas Legislature has not updated the amount of money school districts receive per student—$6,160—since 2019, despite inflation.
- Enrollment: EISD enrollment peaked in 2019-20 and has declined every year since.
- Attendance: EISD’s average daily attendance is approximately 1% lower since the COVID-19 pandemic.
- School Health and Related Services funding: EISD lost $600,000 in SHARS funding after Medicaid-eligible services were reimbursed at a lower rate than in previous years.
What are the options?
Board President James Spradley said the board requested that staff provide options that net $500,000 or more in savings. Additionally, officials said priority will be given to options that have the least impact on student learning and staff retention, and aim to attain savings through natural staff attrition.
The solutions brought forward include:
Modifying or eliminating the Spanish Immersion program
Officials said eliminating the program could yield $600,000 in savings by reducing costs for program stipends and Spanish instructional materials if the program concludes before the 2025-26 year. The program currently has approximately 700 students across five elementary schools with an estimated 87 out-of-district transfers in 2025-26.
However, it could also reduce the number of out-of-district student transfers and teachers seeking bilingual positions with stipends, and lead to a loss of early language acquisition benefits for students.
The option drew considerable pushback from nearly a dozen parents during the meeting, who cited the benefits of the program.
"The program, I think, was under marketed, and yet I think it remains a profoundly valuable asset to attracting new families," parent Jenni Chang said. "... Many of us in [the] Spanish Immersion program are willing to help promote it and also contribute financially to sustain it."
Adopting copper pennies
Adopting nine copper pennies through a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, could generate $4 million in new revenue.
However, Chief Financial Officer Chris Scott said these pennies are an “extremely bad deal” for district taxpayers. The tax rate must be raised in order to adopt the pennies, which can generate additional state aid, but the pennies are subject to high recapture rates.
Adopting all nine pennies could generate $20 million in tax revenue, but $16 million of it would be recaptured.
“I’m willing to have it on the discussion list because I think we need to hear if we have a groundswell of taxpayers who feel like this would be something they would be willing to participate in,” trustee Ellen Balthazar said. “Personally, I feel like it plays into the irresponsibility of the state. I personally am not willing to go there yet because [there] is such high stakes in the state Legislature for public education, and I am not willing to play into that dysfunction right now.”
Blending Barton Creek Elementary and Valley View Elementary
Officials said blending the two elementary schools would create a more efficient school based on enrollment and could save the district $2 million. The blending would still allow for the same class sizes and services, makes sense geographically, and honors the desire of the Valley View community to stay together.
However, the blend would rely on natural staff attrition, so full savings may not be realized in the first year. Additionally, temporary portable classrooms funded through bond funds would be required.
Eliminating Professional Learning Communities (PLC) periods
PLC periods provide grade 6-12 English, math, science and social studies teachers with additional planning time to collaborate with other teachers. Officials say eliminating the periods would yield $2 million in savings over time and would address inequities with noncore content and elementary teachers who do not have these planning periods.
Superintendent Jeff Arnett later clarified that the communities themselves would not be eliminated, only the specified planning time.
However, these periods are considered a recruiting and retention tool, and would reduce the time that special education teachers have to collaborate with general education teams.
“In talking to teachers, I hear [that] the good teachers, if they lose something like this, they’re going to take it home,” Vice President Kim McMath said. “So their 10- or 12-hour days become a 15-hour day. ... I'd rather look at the awful copper pennies than take even more away from our teachers."
Selling facility naming rights
The district could sell naming rights to facilities, such as the stadium and performing arts center, in an initiative that would likely be led by the Eanes Education Foundation.
Chief Communications Officer Claudia McWhorter said there is uncertainty about what exactly the district would put forward to be named, as well as the amount the district would receive. Trustee Heather Sheffield added that a “robust policy conversation” would need to be had to avoid issues with selected names.
What else?
Other solutions identified included making staff reductions through attrition or freezing salaries, but could negatively impact staff morale, personal finances and make recruitment efforts harder.
What’s next?
Per agenda documents, going forward with the VATRE, blending Barton Creek and Valley View, and eliminating PLC periods could result in $8 million in savings and a possible $1.7 million budget surplus.
“To put it more bluntly, if the board determines that you do not want to proceed with [a VATRE], and we fully understand that because we are as conflicted about this as you are, ... then it likely means that you are going to have to more seriously consider everything else that’s on the list,” Arnett said.
Spradley said the board will likely need to start voting in January on which items to move forward with.
