Allen ISD board receives budget update for 2026-27 school year

“Really, from here it ramps up,” Penn said.

Revenue, expense and staffing projections are expected to be presented to the board in April. Those projections will be finalized in April and refined in May, Penn said. The board is expected to adopt the budget in June, according to Penn’s presentation.

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A new enrollment report from School District Strategies confirmed enrollment at Allen ISD fell again in 2025. It’s currently projected to decline between 1% and 2.3% annually over the next six years, according to School District Strategies’ report.

“That lowest rate—19,573—is really right where we were already looking based on our rollup numbers,” Penn said.

School funding is tied to enrollment and attendance. When it declines, school districts receive less funding for daily maintenance and operations.

Officials are hoping to generate additional revenue for the district through a new open enrollment program called the Allen Advantage. The program soft-launched last fall and brought 20 additional students to the district for the spring semester.

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District officials kicked off budget discussions in February with a staff presentation covering preliminary planning dates. The district has historically absorbed $6 million-$8 million in annual reductions in past years, according to staff presentations.

This has occurred through natural attrition in positions and helps to absorb inflation costs for nonpersonnel costs, which make up 20% of the district’s budget, according to those presentations.

Navigating inflationary pressures and maintaining competitive salaries as enrollment declines continues to be a focus during budget planning, Penn said.