On Feb. 5, Leander ISD superintendent Bruce Gearing announced that there would be district-wide budget and staff cuts in preparation for the following school year. 

In 2024 alone, the district resorted to its savings to manage the current budget and ended up $34 million in debt; $21 million over the board-approved deficit amount.  

The district will have to cut staff positions to manage the deficit and anticipate the lack of incoming growth. After all, 87% of the district’s budget is derived from the employees it hires. 

The staff cut will impact all facets of the district, between office and administration jobs at the high, middle and elementary schools. 

Texas has not increased any school funding since 2019, despite a 22% increase in inflation. Although it has varying impacts on schools across the state, LISD is a district that teaches over 42,000 students and has a combined total of 47 elementary, middle and high schools.

According to the letter, LISD’s substantial growth has finally slowed down, with projected enrollment reducing for the upcoming 2025-26 school year. The letter also stated that because of the reduction in growth, LISD’s total revenue is also reduced. 

Specifically, LISD is projected to lose 1.5 million in federal Title 1 funds. Title 1 funds are intended to support the education of students from low-income families by providing them with additional resources such as teaching programs and counseling. 

How will this impact students?

At the high school level, a total of 81 positions are projected to be cut. However, the campus is expected to lose less teachers, as some of their cuts will be included with future hiring spots. 

A portion of the cuts throughout the district derive from the fact the IB program will eventually be “phased out” from the district by the end of the following school year. Which would allow students currently in the IB program to finish, but not allow any new enrollment of incoming freshmen.

This would be a significant change for LISD; considering that the IB program has been a part of the district since 1999. Since its inception, the program has provided a unique educational experience that is only offered at Leander High School currently. 

Additionally, there will be cuts to staffing positions which will force the student-teacher ratios to be adjusted; likely meaning that there will be more students to one teacher in a class. 

Despite the trend of reduced growth in the district, Rouse’s student population is still increasing. The district reported that for their 2024 demographic report, the high school is the only one projected to have more than 120% student capacity by 2029.  

Schools experiencing similar situations still need to find ways to compensate for the growing class sizes; despite the greatly reduced funds. 

Additionally, while staffing positions have been cut, many teachers in recent years have still left on their own. According to the Texas-State Teachers Association, a survey at the end of last school year concluded that nearly 65% of school teachers considered leaving their jobs. The survey also implied that the teachers who thought about leaving considered doing so due to a lack of support and wage gaps among other reasons. 

For the past two school years, the LISD board of trustees has approved the district to hire teachers who do not yet have their teaching certifications, by using certification waivers, a decision done largely in part by the growing number of open teaching positions. 

How often does this happen?

Leander is not the first district in the Austin area to announce budget cuts. Last May, Round Rock ISD announced that they aim to cut down over $30 million from their budget for the 2024-25 school year. This budget cut included rearrangements to staff, special education and educational resources. 

There were over 50 “overfilled” and “rearranged” staffing positions. In addition, the district reduced $7,000 stipends for non-classroom staff, such as librarians and coaches. 

Additionally, Liberty Hill ISD just recently approved their 2025-26 academic calendar, where six months out of the school year will include solely 4-day work weeks. The district noted that a key motivator in the decision was the $4.5 million budget cut they are projected to experience. 

Vouchers

In the letter, Gearing notes that as of the last session, the state left 4.5 billion dollars allocated toward schools untouched. 

Texas just entered its 89th legislative session. In this current session, the issue of public school funding was often brought up when it came to vouchers.

Vouchers reutilize public education funds for private schools, and have been highly encouraged among Texas lawmakers since the beginning of this session. 

For example, Senate Bill 2  was passed by the senate on Feb. 5, and currently awaits approval in the state’s House of Representatives. The bill would allow families with school-aged children to allocate their tax-payer dollars to private schools. 

Despite these vouchers, the Texas house and senate proposed having $4.85 billion in funds to public education. Among the improvements, this funding increased in hopes that teacher pay could increase by $4,000, and that rural teachers would have an additional salary increase of $6,000.

What can you do? 

One way to advocate for opinions on this issue is to contact your local state representative. In the initial district message, there is a website link that takes any viewer directly to representatives in LISD.  

Once you click on the link, you can scroll down and click the “Who Represents Me?” button. This allows you to enter your information and determine your closest representative. 

While most major elections occurred in 2024, Texas residents will still have the opportunity to elect new school board members for their district in 2025. Most of those elections will take place on May 3.