Lewisville ISD officials expect to end the 2025-26 fiscal year with a roughly $20.5 million in savings compared to the adopted budget, according to an early March report from LISD Budget Director Claudia Orta.
The overview
Expenditure projections show that the district spent roughly $553 million, about $20.5 million under the $573.5 million the district budgeted for expenditures for FY 2025-26, per Orta’s report.
Most of the savings came from payroll. Orta said the district budgeted for a 99% position fill-rate, but the fill-rate has hovered around 97%, resulting in payroll savings.
“The primary driver of these savings is our vacancy rate,” Orta said. “While we budgeted for a 99% fill-rate, we’re currently at approximately 97%. While the majority of the savings are on the payroll side, we’re also seeing some reduced spending on services and supplies.”
By the numbers
Updated revenue projections from Orta showed that local revenue, which includes property taxes, made up about $462 million, or 81% of the district’s revenue. District officials projected about $466 million in local revenue.
State funding contributed roughly $100.5 million, about 18%, and federal funding contributed just under $7 million, about 1% of the district’s FY 2025-26 revenue.
Looking ahead
A report from LISD Chief Financial Officer Scott Wrehe showed that district officials expect enrollment and average daily attendance to drop for the 2026-27 fiscal year. Projections show enrollment will drop from 46,402 down to 45,125, and attendance is projected to decline from 43,418 to 41,966. Texas school districts receive state funding based on average daily attendance, according to the Texas Education Agency’s website.
Wrehe’s projections show that LISD will collect about $13 million less in revenue than the adopted FY 2025-26 budget for FY 2026-27, due to the drop in attendance and lower property tax collections from expiring disaster pennies. The district was able to collect extra money for school operations to cover costs associated with a severe storm that hit Denton County in 2024, according to a district communication.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that the district projects to save $20.5 million in expenditures compared to the adopted 2025-26 fiscal year budget.
