During the first official 2026-2027 school year budget update at Fort Bend ISD’s Feb. 9 board meeting, Chief Financial Officer Bryan Guinn predicted there will be a $56.4 million budget shortfall.
The new prediction grows on last summer’s $26.2 million shortfall calculated when subtracting revenue and expenditure changes from the $7.5 million budget surplus, Guinn said.
What’s changed?The change comes after the district saw 1,801 fewer students enrolled than who were budgeted for based on the Oct. 31 Public Education Information Management System, or PEIMS, snapshot, which is the state’s model on how much money they will give FBISD for the rest of the school year.
Due to the difference, $18 million was infused to the shortfall, Guinn said.
When using the PEIMS snapshot figure as a foundation, factoring in outgoing seniors and incoming early education, preschool, and kindergarten students, Guinn said there will be 437 less students in the 2026-27 school year compared to this year, creating $4.4 million in lost revenue.
Guinn said the decrease in enrollment patterns stem from not as many people moving to the area and lower birth rates.
“This decline is anticipated to continue not just over the next year but over the next several years, and so we’re looking at that specifically as we put together our budget for the upcoming year,” Guinn said.
Also of note
Though the effects of school vouchers are still being finalized, Guinn advised “there will likely be some impact to Fort Bend ISD.”
For now, Guinn said the district is utilizing an estimated 1% loss in students due to vouchers, generating another $7.8 million to the shortfall.
What’s being done
Guinn said the goal is to bring the shortfall back down to 0% in two or three years, while staying within the district’s 90-day operating fund balance requirement.
As a means of reduction, district operational and staffing changes could produce $13 million-$15 million in savings by primarily looking at positions that are currently vacant, Guinn said. Other possibilities include reorganizing campus staffing.
“We’re trying to keep any adjustments that we make, regardless of whether they are at the district level or the campus level, as far away from the classroom as we can,” Guinn said.
Furthermore, Guinn said the proposed elementary school consolidations have the potential to yield annual savings of $5 million-$7 million, but with $2 million contributing toward relocating faculty and students to new campuses, the revised total would be around $3 million-$5 million.
This aligns with the data gathered from the consolidation of Briargate and Blueridge Elementary Schools as well as Mission Bend and Mission Glen.
Next steps
Superintendent Marc Smith said options and programs aimed at retaining and recruiting students to the district will be presented during the Feb. 23 board meeting.
Additional updates, workshops and a public hearing will take place before final recommendations are given in May and the budget is adopted in June.
