Hays CISD officials are proposing to cut $12.25 million in spending following several years of funding challenges.
The district will be cutting or changing 125 positions and suspending stipends until next school year for 970 employees.
“These cuts will, in varying degrees, affect all of us,” Superintendent Eric Wright said in a news release. “Some will lose their jobs and the district will make every effort to help them quickly land on their feet. Others will lose money in their paychecks because of reclassifications, reductions in work days or suspended stipends.”
What’s happening?
Since 2021, HCISD has been pulling from the fund balance, which serves as the district’s savings account, to maintain operations while waiting for increased state funding. While the state approved over $8 billion in school funding in June, district officials said it was not enough to compensate for inflation. Following the voter rejection of a higher property tax rate in November, the district is announcing budget cuts in order to create a surplus budget and rebuild the fund balance.
The majority of district spending is allocated to instructional services, and 88.71% of the district’s budget is spent on salaries and personnel costs, according to a news release. Officials said they are not able to make the necessary budget cuts without affecting jobs.
Officials confirmed more than 1,000 employees will be directly affected by one of the following:
LayoffsReduced workdaysReassignments or reclassificationsStipend suspensionsOf the 125 lost positions, 90 are being cut through attrition. Chief Communication Officer Tim Savoy said they have been able to offer a like-in-kind position to all but 32 employees. He said the district is hopeful it will be able to keep more of these people on, but that officials need to wait to see how many people retire or leave their positions at the end of the school year.
“We hope to have some positions open up,” Savoy said. “So we don’t think the net result of people without a job will be 32, but we wanted to tell them right now, ‘You can’t count on [a position] because we can’t guarantee that.'”
Additionally, the opening of Comprehensive High School No. 4 and Middle School No. 7 will be delayed by one year to 2030. The 2025 voter-approved bond funded the construction of Comprehensive High School No. 4 and the design of Middle School No. 7. Construction costs would need to be approved in a future bond.
How we got here
The Texas Education Agency provides a basic allotment of $6,215 per student to public school districts. This is a $55 increase—provided by House Bill 2 in June—from the previous rate of $6,160, which was set in 2019. Savoy said the state would need to provide approximately $7,000 per student to compensate for inflation.
While education state funding has maintained a similar rate, the U.S. dollar has less spending power. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI Inflation Calculator, $1 today has the same buying power as 77 cents in 2019.
HCISD’s fund balance has depleted to a “critically low” level of approximately $20 million since 2021. According to the district, the fund balance should be around $67 million to have the ability to cover three months of operating expenses.
The board of trustees called for a tax ratification election in August to raise the property tax rate and increase district funding. While the proposed rate of $1.2746 per $100 of valuation was a 12-cent increase, it remained lower than the fiscal year 2022-23 rate of $1.3423. The proposition ultimately failed at the polls in November, and the current tax rate is the same as fiscal year 2024-25.
One more thing
Savoy said the district originally planned to cut $20 million and 200 positions to rebuild the fund balance over three years.
“We could not get there without a significant damage to the educational product that we put out,” he said.
Instead, the district is proposing to cut $12.25 million and 125 positions to rebuild the fund balance over five years. Every year for the next five years, the district will add $12.5 million back to the fund balance. However, Savoy said they will not need to keep cutting positions each year.
Quote of note
“Everyone who’s affected, they’re all precious members of our school district family,” Savoy said. “These are real people behind the numbers and real families that are affected. We have not lost—and won’t lose—sight of that in making these decisions.”
The takeaway
On March 25, the employees who would be losing their jobs, having their hours cut or being reassigned were notified in person. Employees whose stipends are being suspended were notified via email.
The proposed 2026-27 budget cuts will be discussed at a March 30 meeting. Cuts that are adopted by the board of trustees in the final 2026-27 budget will go into effect July 1.
“Everyone will work harder to deliver the Hays CISD educational experience with a smaller staff,” Wright said. “Though we will do our best to keep it from happening, I fear that because of school funding decisions beyond our control that have placed us in this position, a little bit of the Hays CISD magic for our students may suffer.”