HISD board talks cuts ahead of state takeover

Despite a looming state takeover, the Houston Independent School District board Thursday returned to business as usual at a scheduled budget workshop, where its members discussed potential funding cuts for the next school year.

Trustees discussed several cost-cutting measures to help chip away at a growing deficit as federal pandemic funding runs dry and enrollment in Houston public schools keeps declining. The proposed measures would save $62 million, according to the district, but future cuts will likely be necessary to balance the $2.2 billion budget.

The meeting marks the first time that the elected board has convened since the Texas Education Agency last week announced plans to take over the largest school district in the state by ousting the local elected trustees. Commissioner Mike Morath plans to appoint a new superintendent and nine-member board of managers to govern the district sometime after June 1, according to the agency.

It is unclear how the takeover might affect the district’s budgeting process. The current board is scheduled to vote to approve the new budget June 8.

“There’s still a lot of unknowns,” said Dani Hernandez, president of the board. “We don’t know whether a directive is going to come down before that time, so we are moving through the process as usual and we will know more later.”

In response to the state takeover, HISD has the opportunity to appeal the decision by requesting an administrative review by the State Office of Administrative Hearings. That petition must be made before next Thursday. It is unclear whether the district will take this step.

“We’re discussing with our legal counsel all options, but at this point, no decision has been made,” Hernandez said.

As the state moves forward with a takeover, the budgeting process will simultaneously unfold over the next few months.

Principals were working to develop and refine their campus-level budgets, according to the district. These were slated to be submitted by April 19.

The board will hold several more budget workshops in April, May and June before taking a final vote. The budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 will take effect July 1.

The district’s budget deficit is expected to grow to roughly $280 million by the 2024-2025 school year if the board fails to implement any cost-saving measures, according to a financial presentation at the meeting. Additionally, the rainy day fund would drop below the required level in fiscal year 2026.

The financial situation is in part a result of a student population that has been shrinking for years, according to the district, and projections show this trend will continue.

Enrollment is expected to decline by nearly 5,200 students next school year, a 2.7 percent drop from this year’s roughly 189,000 students, according to the district. By comparison, there were more than 215,000 students in 2017.