What you need to know
At its August meeting, CCISD’s board of trustees adopted a $12.5 million shortfall for FY 2025-26, Community Impact previously reported.
To plan ahead for FY 2026-27, CCISD officials are looking forward to increasing revenues through various strategies, including Discover CCISD, an enrollment campaign launched Dec. 1 that focuses on the district’s open enrollment program.
The campaign has obtained nearly 1,100 applications for new students to enroll in just a week of launching, CCISD’s Chief Communications Officer Elaina Polson said.
Also of note
CCISD is also looking for efficiencies in staff optimization to balance the budget for FY 2026-27.
A staffing study with the district’s special education program was recently completed by the Texas Association of School Boards to analyze recommendations, Superintendent Karen Engle said.
While the study remains under review, the district expects to share more details by February, according to district documents.
Another strategy is to optimize master scheduling efficiencies at secondary campuses to ensure all teachers are utilized to their full capacity, officials said.
"Really what we're looking at ... is streamlining and being more efficient,” Engle said. “It's really not about reduction for the sake of that; it's about how we can be more efficient with what we have ... what can we do without sacrificing quality of program?”
What else?
For facilities, the district is implementing Brightly, a maintenance software system that will be used to manage costly infrastructure repairs, officials said.
Brightly will be used as a strategic planning tool that will create a condition index to predict long-term costs for the district, officials said.
Currently, CCISD maintenance staff is conducting a massive physical inventory throughout the district. Since August, engineers and architects with Houston-based architecture firm PBK Architects have been walking through each campus at CCISD to evaluate every piece of equipment, officials said.
"I think it will remove some of the flexibility we've exercised to kick the can down the road," board member Arturo Sanchez said. "It changes the narrative from 'what do we think we should do' to 'this is what must be done.'"
By July, officials will complete the facility condition index using the data gathered from Brightly, according to district documents.
