Over one month into the 2026-27 school year, Houston ISD leaders are evaluating campuses to potentially reshuffle staff and funding to better match actual student enrollment, according to a Sept. 22 news release.
What’s happening
HISD’s board of managers unanimously approved the district’s fiscal year 2026-27 budget June 25, using student enrollment projections for the 2026-27 school year, as previously reported by Community Impact.
Now that the school year has begun, principals of campuses with lower student enrollment than expected are being asked to cut staff, according to the release. These employees may be reassigned to other campuses with higher enrollment than expected.
Funding could also be reassigned between campuses based on how actual enrollment compares to projected enrollment, per the release. These budgeting adjustments are part of an annual process, district leaders said.
“We have worked hard over the last three years to put HISD on stronger financial footing while putting more resources into classrooms and increasing teacher pay,” Superintendent Mike Miles said via the release. “But we also have to adjust when enrollment and revenues change.”
By the numbers
HISD did not respond to an inquiry on how many employees are expected to be affected by the 2026-27 campus staffing needs evaluation.
However, under the FY 2026-27 budget, HISD originally budgeted for 9,895 teaching positions, according to data Community Impact received from the district Aug. 14. As of that date, 9,478 teacher positions were filled, 323 teacher spots were vacant and 94 were in the process of being filled.
During the 2025-26 school year, HISD teaching staff totaled 10,005, according to Texas Education Agency data.
HISD did not fulfill a request for data on the number of district employees, aside from teachers, who were budgeted for in the 2026-27 school year.
In 2025-26, the district employed 22,573 total personnel, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Looking ahead
“We have to make responsible decisions now so the District remains financially strong and can continue investing in the things that have the greatest impact on student achievement,” Miles said. “We are hopeful the next legislative session will provide additional funding for Texas public schools.”
The 90th Texas legislative session is scheduled to begin Jan. 12, 2027.
