AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Independent School District is facing a $49 million budget deficit for his school year and a shortfall of $181 million, Superintendent Matias Segura announced on Wednesday in a letter to the community.

Segura said that while the 2025-26 school year budget was a “fiscally conservative plan,” several factors have created a significant gap.

According to Segura, the property values in Austin decline more than expected, which lowers local property taxes. A majority of Texas public school districts’ funding comes from local property taxes.

Segura also said that enrollment in Austin ISD schools dipped, and he attributed the dip to “the current climate around immigration.” Two other factors for the increased budget deficit that Segura listed were rising operating costs and delayed real estate sales.

“We have now reached a point where these challenges have created a gap that we can no longer bridge with minor adjustments,” Segura said.

Because of the budget deficit, the district is considering “staffing adjustments” on school campuses, according to reporting from KUT News. That proposed cut would save $24.5 million. KUT also reported that Austin ISD is considering department-level layoffs, which would save the district $41 million.

It is not clear how many positions would be affected by these proposed cuts.

“To protect the long-term stability of our district, we must consider deeper reductions. While we have already restructured the Central Office and implemented a hiring freeze to prioritize current staff, we must now look at campus-level changes,” Segura said in his message Wednesday.

Back in November, the district’s Board of Trustees voted to close 10 campuses for next school year, which is estimated to save $21 million. Segura said Austin ISD plans to reinvest $17 million of those savings into “school improvement work, providing staff stipends and academic supports for campuses on state-required intervention plans.”

Austin ISD is hosting community conversations to discuss the 2026-27 school year budget:

Virtual Session: Saturday, April 25 from 11 a.m. to noon
In-Person (Austin High School): Tuesday, April 28 from 6 to 7 p.m.
Virtual Session: Saturday, May 9 from 11 a.m. to noon

The preliminary budget for next school year will be presented on April 23, and the school board is scheduled for a final vote on it on June 18.

Segura’s full letter is available on the Austin ISD website.