Education
BY CHLOE YOUNG
Leander ISD explores opening enrollment Leander ISD is considering opening enrollment to students living outside of the district’s boundar- ies as its enrollment growth slows. District o cials provided an update on the work of the Long Range Planning Committee’s open enrollment subcommittee at a Nov. 21 board of trustees meeting. A closer look The district would need to assess how open enrollment would impact its resources and sta ng, and determine which campuses and grade levels could accept transfers based on their available space, said Mike Howard, LISD director of ne arts and administrative co-chair on the subcommittee. Additionally, LISD would need to determine what the cost-bene t of open enrollment would be and what enrollment caps would be needed to
LISD considers digital learning platform LISD is exploring collaborating with Softchoice, an IT solutions provider, to build a digital learning platform for its students. The gist The platform would house students’ academic and nonacademic information that district sta and parents could access. Students could set and monitor goals, display their work, and provide information about their interests and activities. This data could help teachers and parents better support their students and drive decisions for campuses, Softchoice said. Some context LISD’s district improvement plan includes implementing a comprehensive data warehouse tool.
LHISD adopts lower tax rate amid failed election The Liberty Hill ISD board of trustees adopted the district’s tax rate of $1.1669 per $100 valuation for scal year 2024-25 at its Nov. 18 meeting. The backstory The action comes weeks after voters failed to pass a $0.06 increase to the district’s tax rate during a Nov. 5 voter-approval tax rate election,
LHISD considers technology upgrades Liberty Hill ISD o cials recommended several technology upgrades in the coming years at a Nov. 18 board meeting. The big picture The upgrades are needed amid “a period of unprecedented growth” in the district, said Gregg Burcham, LHISD’s new executive director of technology. Manufacturing short- ages, shipping delays, rising construction costs and state-required online testing have also impacted district technology, he said. A closer look Burcham recommended upgrades to the internet bandwidth, rewall, content lter, wide area network and local area network equipment. Short- to long-term improve- ments range from $1.6 million-$4.94 million.
or VATRE. The district is now facing a projected $7.5 million shortfall and is expecting to deplete its fund balance by 2026. The impact LHISD is now projected to receive $7.2 million less in revenue than it would have under the higher tax rate and is unable to provide 2% raises for sta , district o cials said. The budget shortfall will cause the district’s fund balance to decline, putting it well behind its goal of maintaining at least three months of operating expenditures, Guerrero said.
“Our public schools are where it’s at, so if we can provide open enrollment …
that means they’re making a choice to come to a public school, not go to a voucher, not go to a charter school.” ANNA SMITH, PLACE 4 BOARD MEMBER
ensure adequate space for current students. What they’re saying School board President Gloria Gonzales-Dholakia asked district o cials to consider only opening campuses below a certain enrollment level and determine when the district might see a nancial bene t. Gonzales-Dholakia said LISD could charge an application or registration fee while Place 1 board member Trish Bode asked if LISD had considered charging tuition.
LHISD general fund balance The Texas Education Agency recommends districts maintain at least three months of operating expenditures in their general fund.
Fiscal Year
Fund balance amount
Three months of operating expenditures
Gap toward three-month goal
$22,019,122
-$6,304,976
2023-24 $15,714,146
$8,186,651
$25,913,770
-$17,727,119
2024-25
-$6,903,872
$28,678,248
-$35,582,120
2025-26
SOURCE: LIBERTY HILL ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
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