District officials presented an overview of the district’s preliminary budget for fiscal year 2025-26 at an April 2 budget workshop. The board of trustees discussed the proposed changes as the district faces an over $6 million budget shortfall.
No actions related to the district's budget or proposed cuts were taken at the April 2 meeting.
What you need to know
LTISD officials are weighing several ways to cut costs to reduce the district’s $6 million budget shortfall that is anticipated to grow to $6.33 million next fiscal year.
The district’s initial $4.54 million proposal for cuts, also known as Tier 1 budget reductions, could include reducing campus and department budgets by 10% totaling $1.5 million.
The district could eliminate planning periods for middle and high school teachers in non-testing subjects, saving LTISD $800,000. This would require teachers to teach an additional class period.
More proposals under Tier 1 include limiting campuses to two lunch and recess monitors, removing annual substitutes, staffing fine arts specials aides based on enrollment, and reducing staff travel budgets, said Pam Sanchez, LTISD's assistant superintendent for business services.
The district could make Tier 2 budget cuts along with Tier 1, totaling $8.56 million. This would involve increasing class sizes and sharing instructional support staff between campuses. Tier 3 would include reducing positions across the district by $600,000 on top of the $8.56 million in cuts from Tiers 1 and 2.
Amid the anticipated cuts, the district may request monthly donations from parents, and collaborate with parent teacher organizations and the Lake Travis Education Foundation, said Tasha Barker, assistant superintendent for organizational services. District officials noted that homeowners save around $1,400 from the district’s local optional homestead exemption.
What else?
LTISD could save around $800,000 by switching from the current A/B block schedule at Lake Travis High School to a traditional schedule, Sanchez said. Under the new schedule, students would attend seven 50 minute classes a day instead of the four 90 minute classes students currently attend daily.
This schedule would allow teachers to teach six out of seven class periods with a designated planning period each day. After cutting a planning period under the block schedule, teachers would have to teach seven out of eight periods with a planning period every other day, district officials said.
LTHS leaders believe the seven period schedule would benefit students, said Stefani Vickery, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Trustee John Aoueille said the district has considered changing its schedule many times but that "the negatives always outweighed the positives."
Trustee Lauren White said it could be a problem to eliminate a planning period and change bell schedules at the same time. Some trustees said the district should wait to change the bell schedule until after next school year.
Some context
The district’s mounting budget shortfall comes as the district has experienced stagnant enrollment growth. After losing 263 students last school year, the district’s enrollment is projected to grow by 0% in 2025-26, according to district documents.
“Education is now a competitive environment,” trustee Robert Aird said. “ I want to know what the best outcome is for students so that we can take that and we can compete. Because this budget shortfall goes away if every student that lives inside of Lake Travis ISD goes to [a] Lake Travis school.”
Next fiscal year, taxable property values are projected to decline by 5.5%, causing the district’s local property tax revenue to decline by nearly $12.6 million.
The proposed budget includes a potential $220 increase to the state’s basic allotment of funding per student, which was proposed under House Bill 2. An increase to the basic allotment would cause LTISD’s recapture payment to decrease from $50 million to $34 million.
House lawmakers have since updated HB 2 to include a $395 increase to the basic allotment of $6,160, totaling $6,555.
Going forward
LTISD’s budget projections could change based on action from the Texas Legislature and property value growth, Sanchez said.
The district’s projected budget shortfall could drop to $5.42 million if property values do not decline while it could rise to $7.47 million if state lawmakers do not approve an increase to the basic allotment this session, according to LTISD documents.
District officials are expected to provide updates on the FY 2025-26 budget at meetings in April and May ahead of the board’s next budget workshop June 4, Sanchez said.
