A budget update for the 2026-27 financial year shows Round Rock ISD could once again end in a deficit.
Latest update
Chief Financial Officer Ludivina Cansino said Oct. 15 the district is now expected to realize a $6.1 million shortfall for the 2026-27 budget year.
Just three months into the fiscal year, which began July 1, the district is already expecting high healthcare costs and incorrectly budgeted payroll to be the main drivers of the shortfall. The district passed a balanced budget with about $486 million of expenditures and revenues in June.
Cansino said the district will adjust payroll by $16.8 million, accounting for projected payroll and benefit expenses. She said this increase does not come from adding positions, but from accounting for costs that were previously omitted or under budgeted.
The update comes just weeks after administrators shared that the 2025-26 financial year closed with a $23.6 million deficit.
Explained
The update shows a $2 million reduction in property tax revenues for the prior year due to tax protest refunds. Cansino said the district will also need to transfer $5 million from the general fund to its self-funded health insurance.
The district has incurred deficit budgets in its healthcare fund for several years, the update shows. At this point in the year, Cansino said, RRISD is already operating with a $2.9 million shortfall in this area.
"The health insurance fund continues being an area of financial pressure for the district," Cansino said.
The district is expecting about $8.3 million in additional funding from the state. Cansino said this is primarily the result of a property value audit and recapture refunds.
However, the additional revenue is not enough to close the gap between expenses and revenues, she said.
The $6.1 million shortfall figure includes $4.8 million of identified cost reductions such as a travel moratorium and reducing expenditures at both the campus and department levels, she said. Before those cost reductions are realized, the shortfall is closer to $10 million.
What's next?
Cansino outlined the district's plan to improve its financial position. Pending updates to the district's healthcare plan for employees will likely alleviate some cost pressures, she said.
"We will start the new plan starting January and the employee contributions will go up," Cansino said. "We think that will offset [the healthcare fund shortfall]."
