Despite the growth, LHISD teachers may be working with less support next school year. To combat a budget shortfall, the district will make over $6 million in budget cuts for fiscal year 2025-26.
The cuts include nearly 80 positions, many of which provide support to teachers who will soon face larger class sizes and fewer planning periods.
LHISD officials said the budgetary challenges come amid a lack of state funding and are asking state lawmakers to allocate more money for public education in the 2025 legislative session.
“All the cuts we make put more work on the teacher’s back, and it also cuts away at the quality that we offer in Liberty Hill,” former LHISD Superintendent Steven Snell said.
Two-minute impact
In March, the LHISD board of trustees approved $6.37 million for the first phase of budget cuts to reduce a projected $9.1 million shortfall for FY 2025-26.
The district will cut approximately 78 positions, 54% of which are nonclassroom teachers providing individualized support. For the second year, LHISD will reduce campus budgets by 10% and most district department budgets by 12%.
The district also adopted a hybrid calendar that includes many four-day school weeks.
Amid the cuts, the district will add $2.6 million in positions to accommodate growing enrollment, resulting in $3.77 million in net reductions.
Around 80% of 190 school districts surveyed by the Texas Association of School Business Officials reported planned budget cuts next fiscal year.
State lawmakers are considering several proposals that would increase funding for public education along with a voucher-like program funding private school tuition.
“No, it’s not adequately funded, ... but we’re looking to change that this legislative session,” Rep. Terry Wilson, R-Georgetown, who represents Liberty Hill and Leander, told Community Impact.
The conditions
The district has been impacted by changes to local property tax collections, Chief Financial Officer Rosanna Guerrero said. In 2023, state lawmakers increased the homestead exemption for homeowners from $40,000 to $100,000, reducing the district’s property tax revenue by $1.5 million, she said. The state has also compressed the district’s tax rate by $0.375 cents per $100 valuation since 2019, according to district information.
In November, LHISD voters failed to approve a nearly $0.06 increase to the district’s tax rate that would’ve increased its revenue by $6 million. School board President Megan Parsons said the district had no choice but to balance its budget by making cuts after the voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE.
“Our community is feeling the impact of that,” Parsons said about budget cuts following a failed VATRE. “It’s a necessary consequence of the VATRE not passing along with not getting the funding from the state.”
LHISD parent Greg Wempe said he feels the district has lacked transparency around its budget.
“Every homeowner in the ISD has had their property taxes go up,” Wempe said. “Every aspect of this suggests that there is more income coming into the district. Yet, we’re being told we have to cut budgets.”
The impact
LHISD will hire 30 new teachers while cutting dozens of positions that provide additional services to students, including its 14 emergent bilingual paraprofessionals. This work will now be spread between existing staff members, such as language proficiency assessment coordinators and academic interventionists, Guerrero said.
Some positions, such as behavior interventionists, will be split between multiple campuses, Snell said. As behavior among elementary students has been challenging for the district, LHISD officials have supported House Bill 6, which would make it easier for schools to suspend younger students, he said.
Despite the mental health needs of students growing, the district will eliminate three mental health counselors. LHISD’s police officers are trained as mental health officers, and the district is exploring grants to cover mental health positions, Snell said.
The district will reduce librarians at secondary campuses, while elementary librarians will be required to teach some technology lessons, he said.
“Every position you cut, somebody else has to do that job,” Parsons said.
The approach
The four-day school weeks are intended to relieve stress for teachers by allowing them more time to plan lessons, Snell said.
“It’s going to be a real struggle next year. The focus is going to be taking care of our employees when we know the burden that they’re going to be under,” he said.
A recent Texas Education Agency report found that some students performed lower with four-day school weeks compared to the traditional calendar; however these differences were sometimes small and statistically insignificant, according to the study.
Some parents shared concerns about how they would care for their children on Fridays, Chief of Schools Travis Motal said at a Feb. 18 board meeting.
Rachael Dunn, a Liberty Hill resident and Round Rock ISD employee, will open Panther House Friday School this fall to help meet those needs, she said. The district’s budget challenges have highlighted the importance of the Liberty Hill community uniting to support its students and teachers, Dunn said.
“I’m hoping that it is something that the whole community can kind of rally around schools and teachers and have opportunities for where there [can] be more support,” Dunn said.
Zooming out
District officials have expressed frustration over the state not increasing its basic allotment of funding per student at $6,160 since 2019.
LHISD is advocating for at least a $1,000 increase to the basic allotment along with increased funding for the fast-growth allotment, special education, and safety and security, Snell said.
House Bill 2 by Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, would raise the basic allotment by $395. Wilson said he is advocating to remove a cap on the fast-growth allotment that would allow districts like LHISD to further invest in construction and expanding classrooms.
The state should readdress how it funds public schools by expanding the percentage of school funding it covers for districts and limiting districts’ reliance on local property taxes, Wilson said.
In February, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 26 to provide teachers raises in their third and fifth years of teaching. SB 26 would not apply to around 30% of the district’s teachers that have under three years of experience, Snell said.
“I think the state is trying to make an effort to increase funding for public education,” Snell said. “It’s just what they have proposed is not enough, and they have plenty of money.”
Efforts to raise school funding failed following four special sessions in 2023. Additional funding was tied to an unsuccessful attempt to pass an education savings account program that would’ve allocated public dollars for private school tuition.
In early February, the Senate passed a $1 billion proposal for education savings accounts that was initially passed by the Texas House April 16.
Going forward
LHISD is now rewriting job descriptions and interviewing for positions that have been impacted by the cuts, Snell said. The district does not anticipate needing to lay off any staff members but may assign employees to other positions, he said.
The district may consider another phase of budget cuts depending on property value growth and action from the Legislature, Snell said. LHISD is projecting a 10% increase in property values but will receive its preliminary estimates in April and certified property values in July.
