Leander ISD will head into the 2026-27 school year with a $9.9 million shortfall, following the board of trustees' adoption of the budget during its June 18 meeting.
The details
District documents show that the budget includes $465.9 million worth of revenues against $476.2 million worth of expenditures and $350,000 for other uses, resulting in the $9.9 million shortfall.
The adopted shortfall is lower than the most recent projection of nearly $10.7 million, presented to the board May 21. Executive Director of Business Gina Mitschke said the administration was able to incorporate previously identified reductions to "fine-tune" the current projections.
Some reductions that have already been identified include the closure of Faubion Elementary, staffing ratio adjustments and central office reductions.
The debt service budget, which funds bonds and construction projects, will have a balanced budget of $168 million. The child nutrition budget, which funds student breakfast and lunch programs, is projecting $21.1 million worth of expenditures against $15.2 million worth of revenues, resulting in a planned operating shortfall of $5.9 million intended to align with federal requirements to spend down excess fund balance.
Documents also show that the budget has been prepared to support an enrollment of 41,841 students, representing a decline in growth of 0.26% compared to October 2025 enrollment projections.
Remember this?
The board discussed and approved a 0% general pay increase as part of the 2026-27 compensation plan during the May 7 board meeting. Following a review from the Texas Association of School Boards, the 0% recommendation was made due to continued projected shortfalls.
However, the compensation plan includes a one-time lump sum retention payment of up to $1,000 for full-time employees and $500 for part-time employees. Mitschke said administration will monitor payroll and enrollment throughout the fall to determine a timeline for this payment, but that it is "outside of this [budget]."
What they're saying
Other school districts are balancing their budgets by making cuts to completely eliminate their deficits. But Leander ISD chose not to do that because it would have required cutting even more staff positions and programs, Superintendent Chris Clark said.
If the district had made those extra cost-saving measures, it could have ended the year with millions of dollars left over in savings, Clark said, but noted that would be frustrating because the district would have reduced services and jobs more than necessary to be "putting 8, 9, 10 million [dollars] into fund balance."
Looking ahead
The board will next adopt the tax rate in August, once the district receives the certified property values from the appraisal district in July and a public hearing is held.
Current projections show an unchanged tax rate of $1.0869 per $100 valuation, consisting of $0.7569 for the maintenance & operations rate and $0.3300 for the interest & sinking rate.
