Pflugerville ISD officials are looking at ways to reduce its projected multimillion dollar budget shortfalls in the coming years, which could include closing campuses, rezoning students, repurposing facilities or making other program or scheduling changes.
How we got here
Current projections show an $18.2-million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2026-27, due to low enrollment, decreases in state funding and other factors, Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Land said.
Land said this shortfall does not include staff raises or operational cost increases, but also does not reflect any potential revenue generation or cost saving measures.
District officials began a district optimization process in partnership with Civic Solutions Group last fall to review enrollment trends, campus utilization, financial projections and other long-range planning considerations.
Along with community engagement efforts, the group and district developed individual campus profiles to utilize alongside the optimization scenarios.
"This is not a rating on the school itself," Superintendent Quintin Shepherd said. "We've never talked about this as good or bad schools. ... This is just a way to talk about schools given the criteria we established as a board and as a community about what makes sense for our future."
Breaking it down
Twelve draft optimization scenarios were presented to the board March 5, each with various projected cost savings and rationale behind the option.
- Close Parmer Lane Elementary and rezone students to neighboring schools in 2027-28 for nearly $3 million in net operational savings in the first year
- Close Dessau Elementary and rezone students to neighboring schools in 2027-29 for nearly $3 million net in operational savings in the first year
- Close Pflugerville Elementary and rezone students to neighboring schools in 2027-28 for $1.7 million net in operational savings in the first year
- Close Windermere Elementary and rezone students to neighboring schools in 2027-28 for $2.7 million net in operational savings in the first year
- Redesign Dearing Elementary School as a high-performing choice option in 2027-28; annual net operating impact to be determined based on school model
- Rezone elementary schools east of Highway 130 in 2029-30 to balance enrollment; annual net operating impact to be determined based on enrollment boundaries
- Close Park Crest Middle School and rezone students to neighboring schools in 2027-28 for a $3 million annual net operating impact
- Close Westview Middle School and rezone students to neighborhood schools in 2028-29 for a nearly $2 million annual net operating impact
- Explore new programming at Bohls and Cele middle schools and Mott Elementary in 2027-28; annual net operating impact to be determined based on school model
- Shift high school schedules from a block schedule to a traditional 8-period day in 2027-28 for a nearly $5 million annual net operating impact
- Rezone high schools within the next three years to address capacity concerns; annual net operating impact is not applicable
- Repurpose vacant facilities for early childhood, Pflugerville Academic and Career Education program, Disciplinary Alternative Education Program and other uses in 2028-29; annual net operating impact to be determined
According to CSG partner Olin Parker, the district would save $19.7 million in operating expenses in its first year if all twelve scenarios were implemented. Over three years, this would lead to a cost reduction of $62.7 million.
"I don't think all twelve scenarios will move forward because again, we're doing extensive community engagement," Parker said.
However, Parker said if all scenarios were implemented, the district would see 2,586 students move to a higher performing campus and 2,340 students moving to higher quality facilities.
"This is not just about cost savings; this is also about putting students in higher quality facilities and higher performing campuses," Parker said. "We believe that districts can become more financially efficient and also produce better outcomes for their students."
Get involved
The district will run a ThoughtExchange survey to provide community feedback on the scenarios through April 10 here.
Community meetings will also take place next week from 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at the following campuses:
- March 9: Pflugerville ES and Park Crest MS
- March 10: Timmerman ES and Westview MS
- March 11: Delco ES and Weiss HS
- March 12: Connally HS, Hendrickson HS, Pflugerville HS
More information on each campus profile and the draft scenarios can be found here.
"There are no predetermined outcomes; nothing has been voted on," trustee Chevonne Lorigo-Johst said. "We are genuinely looking to our community. ... We want to think through every possible impact, especially human impact, on any of these potential scenarios."
Looking ahead
The board is expected to vote on which optimization actions to take in May, which will be based on recommendations from board and community feedback.
