The LHISD board of trustees approved the first phase of budget cuts at a March 10 meeting as the district works to reduce a mounting budget shortfall. District officials pointed to a lack of state funding before voting to make $6.37 million in cuts.
“It is very unfortunate that we are faced with insufficient funding from the state and the lack of support in order to provide the best education for our students,” Chief Financial Officer Rosanna Guerrero said.
The update
The district will cut 77 positions totaling $5.06 million for fiscal year 2025-26, including:
- 23 secondary teachers
- 41.5 nonclassroom teachers
- 7.5 central office positions
- Five student support services positions
Additionally, the district will add $2.6 million in new positions to its budget to accommodate enrollment growth, including 30 new teachers and seven nonteaching positions. After factoring in these new positions, the district will make $3.77 million in net budget reductions.
The district is expected to face a $1.28 million budget shortfall following the budget cuts.
Moving forward, LHISD is aiming to make an additional nearly $1.73 million in cuts to meet its goal of $5.5 million in net reductions, according to the presentation.
A closer look
The district will cut eight middle school teachers and 15 high school teachers by requiring secondary teachers to teach seven out of eight class periods instead of six.
The district is cutting the following nonclassroom teachers, which includes positions that work with students outside of the classroom:
- 14 emergent bilingual paraprofessionals
- Seven gifted and talented teachers
- Seven STEM specials teachers
- Four ESL interventionalists/LPAC teachers
- Three mental health counselors
- Three behavior interventionists
- 1.5 library positions
- One instructional coach
- One testing coordinator
For the department budget cuts, the business and finance department will receive the greatest cuts at 24% followed by construction at 13%. Most district department budgets will be reduced by 12% while athletics will be reduced by 11% and communication will decrease by 6%.
Also of note
The district is considering implementing the following measures to increase revenue, according to the presentation:
- Technology device fee
- Bus advertisements
- Parent/community donation drive with the Liberty Hill Education Foundation
- District facility sponsorships
- Selling land
The background
Without making budget cuts, the district was projected to face a growing budget shortfall in future fiscal years that would deplete its fund balance, Guerrero said at a Jan. 27 special meeting.
For FY 2025-26, the district anticipates receiving around $2.86 million less in local property taxes as the state is expected to reduce its tax rate by at least $0.03, Guerrero said.
Amid a projected $7.5 million budget shortfall this fiscal year, the district made $2 million in cuts, including reallocating, freezing and reducing positions; increasing class sizes; and cutting campus and department budgets. In November, the district called a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, during which voters failed to pass an increase to the district’s tax rate.
In February, the board adopted a calendar featuring some four-day school weeks throughout the 2025-26 school year. The hybrid calendar was intended to better support teachers that may be impacted by the budget cuts by providing more professional development and planning time, Motal said.
What they’re saying
District officials said the budget cuts stem from a lack of state funding from the Texas Legislature.
“We're in this mess because of the Legislature. They are making the point for vouchers ...” Place 4 board member Kathy Major said. “It’s hurting our kids.”
Guerrero referenced a 2025 report from the Texas Association of School Business Officials showing 80.5% of 190 districts surveyed reported planned budget cuts for next fiscal year. Leander ISD announced it will cut over 200 teaching positions among other reductions totaling $17 million for FY 2025-26.
“The challenges that we are facing here ... [are] not isolated to our district,” Guerrero said. “It is a statewide issue, and the majority of school districts across the state are facing these exact same challenges.”
LHISD officials have expressed frustration over the state not increasing its basic allotment of $6,160 in funding per student since 2019.
The Texas Education Agency and state lawmakers have said the state funded districts at $15,503 per student in the 2022-23 school year, Guerrero said. She said the figure was misleading as it includes interest and sinking money that cannot be used for students or operational costs as well as federal funding that has since expired.
Some context
With the 2025 state legislative session underway, the House and Senate have both drafted budgets that would increase funding for public education by about $4.9 billion. House Bill 2 by Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, would spend nearly $7.6 billion on public education with a $220 boost to base school funding.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced providing teacher pay raises as his third emergency item at the State of the State address Feb. 2. In late February, state senators unanimously passed Senate Bill 26 to raise teachers' salaries in their third and fifth years in the classroom.
"Public education funding is at an all-time high,” Abbott said at the Feb. 2 event. “Funding per student is at an all-time high. But improving education requires more than just spending more money. It requires high-level instruction and better curriculum."
In November, Abbott said he was committed to “fully funding” public schools and raising teacher salaries; however, efforts to do so failed following four special sessions in 2023. Additional school funding was tied to an unsuccessful attempt to pass a voucher-like program that would’ve allocated public dollars for private school tuition.
The Texas Senate passed a $1 billion proposal for education savings accounts in early February that is now headed to the Texas House.
“It’s time to march it down to Austin and get some revenue,” Superintendent Steven Snell said about advocating at the Texas Capitol. “My biggest fear is that the cuts we made tonight aren’t going to be enough. I’m afraid that the legislation that’s going to pass is going to cut us even deeper than it already has, and it’s unacceptable.”
Stay tuned
District officials said affected staff members would receive an email on the night of March 10 and meet with their principals and human resources within the next two days.
The district may consider a second phase of budget reductions, including cutting more staff positions, and call another VATRE in November, LHISD officials said.
LHISD is expected to adopt its budget and tax rate in August.
"We will get through this," Major said. "If [there's] anything I know about Liberty Hill, it's that we figure it out."
Hannah Norton contributed to this article.
