Austin Independent School District trustees considered a proposed budget Thursday night aimed at addressing a projected $181 million deficit as parents, teachers and community members packed the boardroom to weigh in on the district’s financial future. Many attendees dressed in black, describing the meeting as a “funeral” for public education and voicing concerns about the impact the proposed cuts could have on students and staff. view article

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin ISD trustees approved a budget Thursday night aimed at addressing a projected $181 million deficit for the 2026-27 school year.  The budget includes nearly $186 million in spending reductions as district leaders work to stabilize finances amid declining enrollment, falling property values and a lack of state funding.   Before approving the budget, trustees adopted an amendment to ensure every Austin ISD campus has a full-time librarian. The positions will be funded using the district’s fund balance, with Superintendent Matias Segura expected to return in August with a plan to identify another funding source.    view article

Austin ISD trustees spent hours Thursday listening to public comment and discussing a proposed budget aimed at closing a projected $181 million deficit. Educators, parents, and community members urged the board to protect programs and services they say students rely on. The proposed budget comes after months of debate over district spending and follows the closure of 10 schools in November 2025. District leaders say a combination of stagnant state funding, declining enrollment, lower-than-expected property values, and rising operating costs has left the district facing significant financial challenges. view article

Austin ISD leaders on Thursday approved an $887 million budget for the 2026-2027 school year, which includes $205 million in cuts. view article

The Nacogdoches ISD School Board adopted a decreased budget for the upcoming school year Thursday as the district expects about 100 fewer students to enroll. The adopted budget for the 2026-2027 school year is $71,490,177, less than the budget for the previous school year which was $72,118,251. One of the budget items seeing a decrease is student transportation. “Countywide, regionwide, statewide, nationwide, there’s just been a decline in enrollment in public education,” said Les Linebarger, chief communications officer for Nacogdoches ISD. view article

The Austin school district’s budget crisis is deepening faster than district leaders projected, with its deficit now climbing from $19 million to $95 million in less than a year and threatening to swell to $181 million by next summer if cuts are not made. view article

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Arlington ISD will face a nearly $60 million shortfall next year despite a staff reorganization and no raises for employees. The district’s trustees unanimously adopted the 2026-27 budget shortfall Tuesday night. Trustee Justin Chapa said the previous cuts have provided a financial runway to absorb the shortfall — but the district is nearing the edge. view article

The Ysleta Independent School District (YISD) Board of Trustees adopted a budget Wednesday night, June 17, carrying a deficit of $12.2 million. The move will bring the district’s financial reserves to a dangerously low $4.5 million — a level auditors warned could put the district on a path to financial insolvency. view article

The Socorro Independent District adopted a balanced budget for the second year in a row and is looking to start rebuilding its savings next year after a decade of spending more than it generated in revenue. The SISD board voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt a $462.1 million general fund budget with a $550,000 surplus that will pay for the operating costs of the district’s aquatic center. view article

Wylie ISD trustees approved the district’s 2026-27 budget during their June 16 meeting, adopting a spending plan that projects a nearly $15 million deficit while providing pay increases for teachers and staff and maintaining the current tax rate. view article

When Rachel Preston became a teacher more than a decade ago, she fell in love with helping Austin students learn French. “Sometimes, I get to see the kids go from zero to conversant, almost fluent in the language,” said Preston, who teaches at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, or LASA. “They’re growing the whole time they’re in your class. You just get to see them succeed.” view article

For years, public school leaders, advocates and families have complained that state funding didn’t keep up with the actual needs of children with disabilities.  But now, they are finding new funding gaps as Texas rolls out its private school voucher program, which offers up to $30,000 for students with disabilities. The voucher program, which follows state funding for special education in public schools, awards students in different districts very different amounts, in some cases by thousands of dollars.   “None of us have ever seen anything like this,” said Andrea Chevalier, director of governmental relations for the Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education. “It's crazy to look at the disparity between some of the districts.” view article

Austin ISD closed the 2025-26 school year with a projected $95 million shortfall—more than four times the $19.7 million shortfall the board adopted last June—as trustees questioned whether they could vote on a budget that may already be underpowered before it takes effect.  The district's fund balance is projected to fall to 10.1% of operating expenditures by the end of June, according to a June 11 Austin ISD board meeting presentation. That figure is half the 20% that the board's own policy requires and below even the temporary 15% floor trustees set in 2025. The fund balance acts as the district's savings account, covering payroll and expenses during the months before property tax revenue arrives each year, according to the presentation. view article

For years, public school leaders, advocates and families have complained that state funding didn’t keep up with the actual needs of children with disabilities.  But now, they are finding new funding gaps as Texas rolls out its private school voucher program, which offers up to $30,000 for students with disabilities. The voucher program, which follows state funding for special education in public schools, awards students in different districts very different amounts, in some cases by thousands of dollars.  view article

The Austin school district is entering a pivotal stretch that could determine whether the district remains under local control or becomes the next Texas school system taken over by the state. Three middle schools — Burnet, Webb and Dobie — are awaiting accountability results that could trigger a state-mandated intervention and set in motion a process that has already played out in Houston, Fort Worth and other districts across Texas. view article

Houston ISD's board of managers delayed a vote Thursday night to approve the district's proposed budget for the 2026-27 school year. The state-appointed managers are now scheduled to vote on June 25. The board must approve a budget by the end of the fiscal year on June 30. view article

As school districts draw up budget plans for the upcoming school year, San Antonio’s largest school district will likely place pay raises in the hands of voters. For months, Northside Independent School District officials have hinted at a voter approval-tax rate election, or VATRE, in November. VATREs increase tax rates on the maintenance and operation side, unlocking extra dollars a school district can use on day-to-day costs like pay, student programs and utilities. view article

The Austin school financial crisis reached a new low Thursday as district leaders revealed the school system is now projected to close the year with a $95 million year-end deficit, a shortfall $76 million deeper expected, and one that will drain the district’s financial reserves to half their usual level. view article

The Austin Independent School District Board is expected to consider a proposed contract amendment Thursday that would extend Superintendent Matias Segura's contract through 2030 and also include a performance pay incentive tied to campus accountability ratings. view article

The Brownsville Independent School District budget committee reviewed a near-final budget of $486.47 million for the 2026-2027 school year. The review last Monday, led by Chief Financial Officer Rosario Pena, forecasts pay raises of 2% for all employees, makes adjustments to the pay scales for some longtime employees, improves the teacher-student ratio for middle schools and fifth grade from 26-1 to 22-1 and makes other adjustments to “right-size” the district. view article

The Austin school financial crisis reached a new low Thursday as district leaders revealed the school system is now projected to close the year with a $95 million year-end deficit, a shortfall $76 million deeper expected, and one that will drain the district’s financial reserves to half their usual level. view article

Austin ISD officials said Thursday in an email to KXAN that the district’s savings account has dropped to a critical level as leaders prepare to adopt a budget that will require significant cuts. The district’s fund balance, often viewed as a financial safety net, is projected to end the year at about 10% of the overall budget. view article

Many Austin ISD students, parents, educators and community members packed a Board of Trustees meeting this week, voicing frustration and concern over a proposed budget plan that would eliminate nearly $186 million in spending as the district works to address a projected $181 million deficit next school year. view article

Austin ISD, the largest school district in central Texas, is back at the table tonight as leaders work through a major budget plan. The district is trying to close a projected $181 million shortfall before the next school year. The proposed plan would eliminate or restructure more than 500 positions districtwide. view article

Spring Branch ISD officials say a recent change by the TEA has left the district with millions less in state funding than expected, prompting concerns about future budget cuts and even discussion of possible legal action. During a school board meeting Monday night, district leaders said Spring Branch ISD received funding from House Bill 2, the school finance package approved by lawmakers this year. However, officials said in May there was a change to a TEA funding formula, reducing the amount of money the district anticipated receiving. view article

San Antonio ISD’s spent more than $46,000 to pay for travel for seven members of its executive cabinet since mid-2024, records show. The cabinet’s top traveler is Dr. Shawn Bird, the district’s deputy superintendent. Records show Bird has gone on at least 17 trips on SAISD’s behalf. view article

Carroll Independent School District is counting on $8.75 million in land sales this year to offset a projected $1.6 million budget deficit and $1.7 million loss in state funding.    These items were highlighted at the June 1 Carroll ISD board of trustees special meeting.  The $8.75 million in revenue includes the sale of Old Dragon Stadium — 14.78 acres at 2400 N. Carroll Ave. — and three other properties.   view article

The El Paso Independent School District voted during a special board meeting 5-1 on Thursday to declare financial exigency, allowing for termination of contracts, employment agreements and programs without penalties. This comes as district leaders have been working to balance the district's budget by the end of June, as the district is projecting a shortfall of roughly $42.1 million for the 2026-2027 budget year. view article

As a budget shortfall and lagging public school funding loom in Arlington ISD, the district’s teachers and staff will not see a pay raise in the next year. Arlington ISD school board members voted unanimously to bolster some employee benefits, but did not approve increases in pay Thursday night. view article

The Austin Independent School District’s plan to address a $181 million budget deficit includes a proposed $5 million cut to the school district’s police force. The budget proposal dropped this week; you can read a full summary of what that entails here. view article

The Austin Independent School District's proposed budget makes deep cuts to programs, transportation and as many as 558 positions. At a meeting Thursday night, teachers, staff and parents urged district officials and the board of trustees to reconsider the proposals being made to reduce the $181 million budget deficit. view article

District officials announced cuts affecting 558 positions.  Austin Independent School District has released its recommended budget for the 2026-2027 school year, including cuts to reduce the $181 million deficit. The cuts will affect over 558 positions.  Superintendent Matias Segura has guaranteed that teachers with state certifications will retain their jobs. However, non-certified teachers will move to different qualifying roles that the district is still working to find. Additionally, 112 qualified teachers will move to different districts, and Austin ISD will eliminate 228 department vacancies.  Austin ISD will also close 11 schools, saving approximately $21 million.   The district is also planning to increase the teacher-student ratio and reduce the amount of teacher planning periods. Educators have already started petitions claiming that the reduced amount of time will not allow them to serve their students effectively, especially when increasing the teacher-student ratio.  view article

More than 130 cities, most with fewer than 10,000 residents, were blocked from increasing their property tax revenue because they had broken the law.  When Monte Walker took the reins as city manager of Howe, a town with a population of 3,686 some 50 miles north of Dallas, the city hadn’t audited its books for two years — even though state law says they must be done annually. The town had seen turnover in its management, and past officials hadn’t gotten those audits done before he took the job in 2023, Walker said. view article

More than 130 cities, most with fewer than 10,000 residents, were blocked from increasing their property tax revenue because they had broken the law.  When Monte Walker took the reins as city manager of Howe, a town with a population of 3,686 some 50 miles north of Dallas, the city hadn’t audited its books for two years — even though state law says they must be done annually. The town had seen turnover in its management, and past officials hadn’t gotten those audits done before he took the job in 2023, Walker said.  Some three years later, Howe is nearly caught up, Walker said.  When Monte Walker took the reins as city manager of Howe, a town with a population of 3,686 some 50 miles north of Dallas, the city hadn’t audited its books for two years — even though state law says they must be done annually. The town had seen turnover in its management, and past officials hadn’t gotten those audits done before he took the job in 2023, Walker said.  Some three years later, Howe is nearly caught up, Walker said.  But last month, Howe got a letter from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: because the city’s behind on its audits, the attorney general had effectively frozen the city’s property tax rate for the foreseeable future. That’s owing to a new state law that forbids cities from raising property taxes if they’re not up-to-date on their financial audits — a law that appears to be falling disproportionately on smaller Texas towns as cities everywhere face tightening budgets. view article