At the May 11 regular board meeting, Tomball ISD Chief Financial Officer Zack Boles said the district is facing a projected $8 million shortfall for fiscal year 2026-27 due to the opening of two new schools in August.
Budget explained
For FY 2026-27, the projected revenue is $256.4 million, and the expenditures are projected to be $264.4 million. The proposed budget represents a 7.59% increase in revenue compared to FY 2025-26, but leaves a total projected shortfall of around $8 million.
Boles said the projected shortfall is due to the openings of Tomball West High School and the fifth-grade addition at Creekside Park Junior High in August, along with a general pay increase for employees.
Boles said the district had to hire a number of new employees to support the two new campuses in the district, which added to the projected shortfall. For Tomball West High School, the number of employees needed to open the high school is 100, which costs TISD an estimated $6.2 million. For Creekside Park, the total cost to hire 21 new employees to staff the campus costs the district $1.4 million.
Historically, TISD has maintained separate fund balances to help with district spending when needed. Boles said $15 million has been set aside to address fiscal stabilization, while $8 million has been set aside for the opening of new schools. With the projected budget shortfall, Boles suggested using a portion of those funds to alleviate the strain.
“What we’re proposing with this $8 million deficit is that we use those fund balances that we have historically set aside for the opening of new campuses, because that is what this deficit is tied to,” Boles said.
Some context
In the past decade, the district has faced three other shortfalls: in FY 2017-18, FY 2023-24, and FY 2024-25. Unlike the current projected shortfall, the past shortfalls were caused by stagnant state funding, Boles said.
Boles also said the district has a history of finishing the fiscal year below its projected budget shortfalls. In FY 2023-24, TISD was able to cut its $5 budget shortfall in half, and in FY 2024-25, the district cut its projected $9.1 million shortfall to $1.2 million.
Also of note
In regard to the projected $256.4 million in revenue, Boles said this is the first time in his role as CFO that state funding has outperformed local funding.
The district's tax rate is projected to remain unchanged at $0.6669 per $100 valuation.
