On June 25, Houston ISD’s board of managers unanimously approved the district’s fiscal year 2026-27 budget, which features an estimated $24.5 million shortfall.
At a glance
According to June 25 meeting documents, the approved FY 2026-27 general fund budget features:
- About $1.99 billion in total revenue
- About $2.015 billion in total expenditures
- An expected $24.5 million shortfall
Compared to the general fund for the adopted
FY 2025-26 budget, the FY 2026-27 budget’s general fund includes about:
- $96.5 million less for instruction expenses
- $12.1 million more for student transportation costs
- $10 million less for school leadership expenses
- $7.9 million less for general administration costs
- $7.6 million more for instructional leadership costs
Remember this?During the HISD board of managers’ April 9 meeting, district administrators and campus leaders were granted authority to consider cutting or reorganizing teacher and other employee positions for the 2026-27 school year.
An information request on the number of HISD employees laid off due to 2026-27 budget cuts was pending with the district as of press time June 26.
Latest update
HISD’s board of managers also approved a FY 2026-27 total tax rate of $0.8421 per $100 valuation, according to June 25 meeting documents. The tax rate is $0.0362 lower than the current total tax rate, which is $0.8783 per $100 valuation.
However, the preliminary total for taxable property values within HISD's boundaries for FY 2026-27 increased by 0.24% year over year to $232.62 billion, as previously reported by Community Impact.
The total tax rate is subject to change once the final certified values are delivered to HISD by the Harris Central Appraisal District in July, as previously reported.
What it means
The median value of a home within HISD’s boundaries for FY 2026-27 is $300,473, according to HISD meeting documents. That means a taxpayer with this home value is expected to pay $2,530 in annual taxes to HISD.
In FY 2025-26, the median home value was $296,941, so a taxpayer with that home value paid $2,608 annually, according to meeting documents.
Although HISD’s tax rate decreased year over year, homeowners may still see an increase on their tax bill if their home value increased year over year, as previously reported.
