Texas school districts all struggling with lack of state funding

AUSTIN, Texas - Over the past month, 7 On Your Side has been spotlighting local districts that have been grappling with budget deficits. But it's not just Central Texas schools that are struggling. 

Districts all across the state say they are dealing with different versions of the same problem: a lack of funding from the state. 

MORE STORIES:

• Central Texas districts talk about legislature's school funding
• Texas schools hoping lawmakers increase funding during legislative session
• Texas Legislature: Battle over education policy continues

Austin ISD operates in budget deficit

What they're saying:

District leaders across Texas are anxiously awaiting action from the state legislature when it comes to public school funding. 

"A lot of districts have cut through a lot of the fat, and they're getting to the bone," said Dax Gonzalez of the Texas Association of School Boards. 

Austin ISD is currently operating with a $92 million deficit. The school board is finalizing plans to make that much in cuts over three years. 

"There are likely going to be cuts to things that we love. And that's part of the hard decision-making that we have to make because the state is choosing not to fully fund public education," said Austin ISD Board President Arati Singh. 

Other Texas school districts are struggling

What they're saying:

But Austin ISD is far from alone, with district after district across Texas passing deficit budgets and making major cuts. 

"We're talking about things like closing campuses, reducing staff. That's instructional staff as well, things like cutting bus routes, the things that families have really come to rely on. One year they're going to start the school year and those services may not be there," said Dax Gonzales of the Texas Association of School Boards. 

Dallas ISD is currently dealing with a $152 million deficit. That's about $35 million less than the original $186 million shortfall for this year. But painful cuts were made. Among them, the elimination of hundreds of positions—including cutting 55 assistant principal jobs. 

Nearby, in Coppell ISD, the board of trustees recently voted to close Pinkerton Elementary. 

"Why are we in this financial dire situation for education? Shouldn’t we be prioritizing education?" said Coppell ISD parent Josh McCrary. 

Gonzalez says the answer to that question largely has to do with the legislature failing to raise the basic allotment, the per-student amount each district receives from the state, in six years. 

"They're trying to figure out how to provide the same services with the same funding basically that they've received since 2019. And inflation, just like with everyone else, has taken a large cut out of what those districts can provide," said Gonzalez.

Houston ISD is facing the largest deficit of all this year, about $250 million. That's double the original projected shortfall, after Superintendent Mike Miles said the district would dip into savings to cover things like building maintenance and classroom instruction. 

All this comes after Houston ISD made major cuts last year. 

"And because we did so many cuts last year, we won't have to repeat that. We might have to cut a little bit," said Miles at a December 10 school board meeting. 

School board leaders, though, expressed concern at that meeting. 

"I want to make sure that what we're doing right now is not putting us in a bad position for next year," said Houston ISD Board President Audrey Momanee. 

Miles predicts a smaller deficit for next year, but the exact size of the shortfall could have a lot to do with whether lawmakers raise the basic allotment. 

"I'm not promising anything until we see the real numbers from the state."