Early drafts of Houston ISD’s fiscal year 2026-27 budget feature $46.8 million in spending cuts as the district faces about $50 million in lost revenue due to roughly 4,000 expected student enrollment losses.
The projections
HISD’s draft FY 2026-27 budget estimates a roughly $33.5 million shortfall between funding and expenses in the district’s general fund budget, according to Superintendent Mike Miles’ April 23 budget workshop presentation. The draft general fund budget boasts about $2.019 billion in revenue and about $2.052 billion in expenditures.
According to Miles’ presentation, other highlights of the FY 2026-27 draft budget include approximately:
- $98 million in cuts to expenses, but $51.3 million in increases to expenses
- $35 million in central office cuts
- $15 million in salary increases for central office employees
- $15 million saved due to school consolidations
Campus budgets for FY 2026-27 will not be allowed to be cut by more than 1% or increase by more than 4% compared to the FY 2025-26 budgets, Miles said.
“We have to make tough decisions, and I know that's hard on people, but I appreciate those tough decisions being made,” board of managers President Ric Campo said.
Offering input
During the April 23 meeting, elected trustee Michael McDonough said he is concerned about the 4% cap being given to campuses for their FY 2026-27 budgets.
“That means a school that legitimately earns a 5%, 6%, 7% increase—and that could be by serving more high-need students, growing enrollment and or improving attendance—will still be limited to 4%,” McDonough said. “Regardless of how dutifully the campus leader approached that work, there is an artificial cap on how many dollars they will get in the coming year. This cap is not a state requirement. It's a local decision, and in effect, it tells campus leaders: ‘You did the work, you generated the funding, but you don't get to keep it.’”
What’s new
In the 2026-27 budget, HISD leaders plan to allocate $500 per student to New Education System campuses and special focus schools, Miles said. HISD has used a NES model at 130 low-performing campuses since officials appointed by the Texas Education Agency took over the district in 2023, as previously reported by Community Impact.
“If we're going to have a Magnet subsidy, which we should, and support our Magnet programs, we also should have an academic need subsidy, because your most effective teachers, your highest-paid teachers and your resources should be prioritized or skewed towards the schools that are struggling the most or the students that are struggling the most,” Miles said April 23.
In case you missed it
On June 12, HISD’s board of managers adopted a roughly $2.12 billion budget for FY 2025-26 that slashed spending by roughly $54 million, or about 2.5%, compared to the district’s FY 2024-25 budget, as previously reported. The FY 2025-26 budget contained a roughly $39.9 million shortfall when adopted, while the FY 2024-25 budget held a nearly $528 million budget shortfall.
The FY 2025-26 budget no longer has a shortfall as of March 18, a spokesperson for HISD’s press office said, via email.
On April 9, HISD administrators and campus leaders were granted authority to consider cutting or reorganizing teachers and other employee positions for the 2026-27 school year, as previously reported.
Stay tuned
A second HISD FY 2026-27 budget workshop is scheduled for May 20, according to Miles’ presentation. The district’s board of managers are slated to consider approving the final budget on June 11.
Wesley Gardner contributed to this report.
