BY CHLOE YOUNG
approved in February. 2025. This fiscal year, LISD saw a decrease of $4.48 million in state revenue due to slowing enrollment growth. With 42,537 students enrolled in October, LISD had around 500 less students than it was pro- jected to have this fall. The district is projecting reduced enrollment growth over the next decade. To combat this, district officials have discussed opening enrollment to students living outside of LISD’s boundaries. The district estimates receiving a $400,000 net increase in revenue if an addi- tional 100 students attended LISD, said Melody Maples, LISD executive director of the Office of Educational Access, at a Jan. 9 board of trustees meeting. The district would receive $6,160 in state fund- ing for each student who transferred in and would implement a fee to offset costs for processing their applications, Maples said. LISD also saw cuts in federal funding. The district saw a $1.5 million reduction in Medicaid reimbursements for special education students amid cuts to the School Health and Related Services program. Going forward, the district
Amid the cuts, LISD is hoping to reassign affected staff members to open positions in the district that have been created through natural attrition, which is when employees choose to leave their role. “There’s going to have to be a lot of negotiating for us as we go forward about where people go and how we do that, but that’s why we’ve given ourselves as much time as possible,” Gearing said. “These reductions are going to be very painful, and we’re going to have to work through a lot in the coming months,” Gearing said. How we got here District officials have expressed frustration over a lack of state funding as LISD’s financial concerns continue to amplify. Gearing highlighted how the state’s basic allotment of funding per student has not increased from $6,160 since 2019 despite an increase in inflation. In November, Abbott said he was committed to “fully funding” public schools and raising teacher salaries; however, efforts to do so failed follow- ing four special sessions in 2023. The voucher initiative did not pass in Nov. 2024 but was finally
By the numbers
Some of the positions slated to be cut include:
elementary school teachers 35 middle school teachers 47 high school teachers 72
SOURCE: LEANDER ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
will lose $1.5 million in Title I funds due to the poverty level in its census area dropping below 5%, Gearing said. Next steps The district has not identified which positions will be cut, Gearing said. LISD will work through staffing allocations and begin identifying potential cuts at its central office over the next few weeks, Gearing said. Hannah Norton contributed to this article.
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CEDAR PARK - FAR NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION
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