Bay Area Edition | April 2026

Education

BY CATHERINE WHITE

Clear Creek ISD to consider staff reductions for 2026-27 school year

Next steps

The district held secondary campus staffing meetings and master schedule reviews after spring break, which took place from March 9-13. Final staffing decisions for departments, including visual and performing arts, career and technical education and athletics, are expected in March and April, according to district documents.

Across all departments, including elementary, the district plans to reduce over 80 positions for the 2026-27 school year, resulting in a total of $5.6 million in savings, according to district documents. The district reviewed staffing as part of a Special Education and Texas Association of School Boards study completed in December, aimed at identifying costs and operational efficiency across CCISD’s campuses and departments, district officials said. Staff affected by reductions will be placed on an excess list, allowing them to be considered for other available positions within the district before external hires are made, district officials said.

Clear Creek ISD’s board of trustees discussed planned reductions to elementary school staff during its March 2 workshop as part of its annual budget and staffing review. District officials cited declining enrollment and district priorities as key factors for the continued staff reductions. Over the past five years, the district has reduced over 140 elementary units, or full time staff positions, in response to a drop in enrollment of nearly 1,800 students, district officials said at the workshop. This includes nearly 40 units planned for the 2026-27 school year, which will save the district nearly $2.8 million, according to district documents.

Quote of note

“We value getting an external assessment and data that informs this kind of decision. It’s with precision and fidelity of information that allows us to get to the best possible place,” board member Arturo Sanchez said at the workshop. “This is just another example of how we’re responding to the variables that represent decreased enrollment, increased costs and the continued challenges placed on public education.”

CCISD elementary (K–5) enrollment

Since the 2019-20 school year, CCISD’s enrollment for kindergarten through fifth grade has declined by nearly 13%.

19,000 18,000 17,000 15,000 16,000

17,895

17,008

16,996

16,908

Elementary: 37 Instructional coaching: 28 Potential staff reductions for 2026-27 school year

16,613

16,132

15,623

Total 86

12.7% decline

Special education: 19 Emerging bilingual: 2

0

2019-20 2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

2024-25

2025-26

School year

SOURCE: CLEAR CREEK ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT

SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT

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