Georgetown ISD delays opening 2 new campuses to save money

GEORGETOWN, Texas - Across the state, major school districts are forced to implement drastic measures like closing schools, cutting staff, and reducing programs to manage multimillion-dollar shortfalls. 

Meanwhile, Georgetown ISD superintendent Devin Padavil made the decision earlier this month to delay opening two new campuses.

The superintendent says this will help the school district save money in the long run.

What they're saying:

"We're literally working with less as we try to stay competitive on paying our teachers what they deserve," says Devin Padavil, Georgetown ISD superintendent.

School districts across the state are dealing with major budget shortfalls. Georgetown ISD is working on balancing its budget.

When Devin Padavil was named Georgetown ISD superintendent in 2023, he had to take a serious look at the budget and determine how to keep it on track.

"Georgetown ISD has the lowest tax rate in Williamson County. We also have the lowest revenue as a school district. So, we're having to do more with less," says Padavil.

Student enrollment lower than anticipated

By the numbers:

In 2024, the Georgetown community approved the $649 million dollar school bond to build three  new schools and renovate other campuses.

"Because we built the school in 2024, we actually saved money for taxpayers. If we would have built that school in 2025, it would have cost $40 million more just in interest and inflation costs," says Padavil.

In 2023, demographers predicted the school district was going to have nearly 15.500 students enrolled, which is why the bond called for new construction.

However, the recent demographic report shows there are about 14,000 students.

Way below the estimate, so what happened?

"Honestly, home buying slowed down because interest rates went up. In 2023, you could sell a home in Georgetown in about a month. Now, if you put a home on the market in Georgetown, it stays on the for about 100 days. And for that reason, developers have stopped building homes. They're waiting for home buying to pick back up. So, when people aren't moving to Georgetown, the number of kids we have enrolling in the school district really slows down too. So there's a bit of an affordability crisis happening that is keeping Georgetown from growing at the same pace it was growing back in 2022, 2023, 2024," says Padavil.

"We're still growing as a school district, unlike some of the districts across the state of Texas, but the growth has slowed down significantly," says Padavil.

What does a school district have to do to stay on budget?

Dig deeper:

Padavil says when it comes to opening new schools, the majority of the budget goes towards hiring staff, and that money comes from the state.

In 2025, the 89th Texas legislature passed House Bill 2, providing a significant $8.5 billion boost in public school funding, but seeing a decline in enrollment puts the district in a situation where they have to make the decision to delay opening the new campuses.

"When you open two new schools, what you end up with is you have overhead costs. Like the cost of teachers and having students in the school, they cancel each other out as a cost. You have a principal, you have counselor, you have assistant principal, you have custodians, and your security guard. You have all, and then you have your utilities. And then all those costs add up," says Padavil.

"If I chose to open these two schools, we would end up at a deficit and make increasing teacher pay almost impossible," says Padavil.

What does a school district have to do to stay on budget?

"So, unless the tax rate goes up, unless student enrollment flies back up, or the Texas legislature better funds public education, we are going to run out a room to pay teachers what they deserve and maintain a balanced budget," says Padavil.

What's next:

Because the school district is delaying opening elementary school 12, they predict only one elementary school will experience overcrowding next school year.

As of now, the district will address that through rezoning only at Wolf Ranch Elementary School.

"In the next two years, we're very confident that growth is going to continue and that will offset the cost of opening those two schools. What we don't want to do is be fiscally irresponsible and put ourselves in a deficit budget," says Padavil.

The school district plans on opening the elementary and middle school next year.

The high school is still under construction and remains on schedule to open in 2028.

Another attempt to help save the school district money. Georgetown ISD board approved a new bus and bell schedule for the 2026–27 school year. The updated schedule includes earlier start times for elementary and high schools, while moving middle school schedules later. Overall, these changes create 50-minute travel periods between routes, reduce annual operational costs, and create capacity to absorb additional demand for future enrollment.