Leander ISD could fall short nearly $30M for next year's budget

LEANDER, Texas - Leander ISD faces a nearly $30 million budget deficit next school year.

The Texas legislature has not increased funding for public schools since 2019, and many school districts, like Leander ISD, say that's just not enough.

"If we continue to do the exact same things that we do, we kinda know we are in trouble," said Leander ISD Chief Financial Officer Pete Pape at the school board trustee meeting Thursday. 

"We’re having to revisit and relook at how we do things and how we deliver education for our students," he added.

The district is already operating in a $13 million deficit. If nothing changes, it will fall short next school year by nearly $30 million.

"I think the only time I've ever come close to that was in 2011, you know, and that was back when the state legislature cut education funding by $5.4 billion," said Pape.

Leander ISD may lose roughly $7 million from the state because of attendance.

"Our attendance rate, like most districts, is down a little bit since the pandemic," said Pape. "I said 94 percent. That’s fairly accurate, but before the pandemic, we were about 96 percent. Each one percent decrease is $3 million for Leander ISD."

The federal government could also cut $1.5 million in Title 1 funds from the district’s budget.

Trustees are considering another $6 million in expenses in pay raises and $2 million for the district’s police department.

"We understand that costs have gone up, and we understand that it’s important that we continue to pay our employees as much as possible," said Pape.

Leander ISD isn’t alone.

Austin ISD voters will decide on a VATRE this November to lower the deficit to 78 million.

"Last year, the Texas Legislature passed a state budget that left billions of dollars in surplus and did not provide enough additional funding for Texas public schools, our students, or our teachers to cover rising costs and new state mandates," said Arati Singh, AISD board president.

The next Texas legislative session begins in January.

"Hopefully that will change this year," said Pape. "Hopefully the 89th legislature will be able to set their differences aside and prioritize public education."

If not, Pape said it’s the schools that will pay.

"When you’re cutting 30 million, it’s people," said Pape. "It’s not paper and pencils, and it’s not setting your air conditioner to a higher temperature. You’re not going to save that kind of money."

Before continuing conversations in December, the district is working on putting together a list of high-priorities for the budget, including salaries, health insurance, and more.

Normally, Leander ISD doesn’t even begin to discuss next year's budget until December, but because of the potential deficit, trustees decided they needed an early start.