Budget & Staffing Updates for 2025-26
Information regarding our budget planning and staffing decisions
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From the Superintendent
— Bruce Gearing, Ed.D.
Feb. 5, 2025
Dear Leander ISD Staff,
As we plan for the 2025-26 school year, we want to share important updates regarding our budget planning and staffing decisions.
The State of Texas has not increased school funding since 2019—despite rising operational costs. Like many school districts, not only Leander ISD, but our families, likewise, are experiencing a 22% rise in inflation. In addition, the state has cut funding for instructional materials, limiting resources for textbooks and classroom materials. On top of that, at the federal level, Leander ISD will lose $1.5 million in Title I funds, which directly support academic resources for students from low-income families. Another $1.5 million was cut from a Medicaid reimbursement program called SHARS (Student Health and Related Services)–funding that covers costs related to therapy that supports students with disabilities.
At the same time, our district’s growth has slowed. This change has led us to use a “reduced growth” enrollment projection, which will ultimately bring in less revenue than previously anticipated and will also result in a reduction in staffing positions.
Budget Overview
This year, to make ends meet, the District dipped into savings (fund balance). Now, we face a projected $34.4 million deficit–a $21-million deficit above the board-approved deficit parameter. During meetings with district and campus leadership teams, we solicited feedback for insight and ideas to reduce expenditures and increase revenue. After an extensive review of the feedback and by implementing some of the personnel suggestions, I believe we can close the budget gap to around $17 million, which equates to $4 million above the board-approved deficit parameter. But, it won’t be easy. While we remain committed to prioritizing empowered student learning, it may not feel like it. These are difficult decisions designed to ensure financial stability. Part of this work is a reduction of approximately $3 million (6%) at the central office level and approximately $12.8 million (5.8%) at the campus level.
The District will also discontinue its Empowerment Fund, a $2 million grant program available to staff to drive initiatives that support deeper learning. Still in the early phases of implementation, the District will look at supporting staff and students through other available initiatives.
Staffing Adjustments
With 87% of our budget dedicated to human capacity, we cannot make changes to the budget without impacting staff. The urgency of getting staffing allocations to principals meant prioritizing the identification of specific positions at the campus level. We are still working on identifying specific positions at the central office level, but remain steadfastly committed to reducing central office expenditures by $3 million. On Tuesday, each principal received modifications to their staffing allocations for 2025-2026. The following outlines the overall impact:
- Central Office: Administration will evaluate positions and make reductions, totaling $3 million. Staffing impact is yet to be determined.
- High Schools: Modifications to master scheduling to create efficiencies, adjustments to student-teacher ratios and administrative staffing. In addition, the IB Programme will also be phased out at the end of the 2025-26 school year, allowing those currently in the program to finish. This will impact 80.5 positions.
- Middle Schools: Changes in staffing formulas, including adjustments to student-teacher ratios and administrative roles. This will impact 58.5 positions.
- Elementary Schools: Adjustments to PreK class sizes, reduction of some instructional aide positions, and alignment of staffing to district guidelines. In addition, the IB Programme will be removed at the end of the 2024–25 school year. This will impact 67.5 positions.
Next Steps
Principals and campus leaders are working closely with area superintendents and human resources personnel to implement these adjustments thoughtfully and supportively. Any position reductions are expected to occur primarily through natural attrition, enabling us to make adjustments as needed while striving to maintain stability for our employees.
We understand that changes of this scale are difficult. Throughout this process, treating our people with dignity and respect remains of utmost importance to us. As we continue through the budget cycle, we will continue to identify further expenditure reductions in areas outside of staffing to get closer to the board-approved parameter with a renewed focus and commitment to high-quality student experiences. We can and will do better with less.
I’m a big believer that clarity requires dialogue, and dialogue takes time. Over the coming days, we will be hosting webinars for you to gain that clarity, ask questions, and express your concerns. The Chief team is committed to listening carefully and answering questions with honesty and transparency. You’re invited to attend these virtual listening sessions, and can find details on how to do so directly below this letter.
As a final thought, I would like to express that we did not get into this position overnight. There has been a systematic and prolonged effort by some to undermine public education in Texas. The State Legislature left $4.5 billion that was appropriated for public education unused last session. They are meeting again right now to decide how to spend the appropriations they have available to them in the current session. Draft House and Senate base budgets show revenue flowing to only some educators. The time to have your voice heard is now by contacting the state senators and representatives who represent you.
I appreciate your continued partnership as we navigate these challenges together. I am completely confident that together we can emerge stronger on the other side. We are #1LISD.
Sincerely,
Bruce Gearing, Ed.D.
Leander ISD Superintendent
Virtual Listening Sessions
Recordings
You can view the recording of the first listening session from Thursday, Feb. 6, in the video on this page. The other recordings are linked below.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The questions listed below were pulled from listening sessions. This will be an evolving section of FAQs as more questions are received.
How much more still needs to be cut this year on top of the decisions that have already been made?
As of Feb. 7, 2025, we are still needing to reduce by $3,642,448. However, we believe we can accomplish this through operating budget reductions and not additional positions.
87% of our budget allotted to people. Is this similar to surrounding districts in our area?
While we cannot speak to other districts specifically, in our experience 87% is a very comparable percentage for staff. Most districts will be within a few percentage points of that number.
Are we looking at campus closures or consolidations? We have some significant differences in the size of some campuses.
The district is actively working with the Board of Trustees this spring through a Long-Range Planning Framework, which focuses on three key areas: Open Enrollment, Facility Optimization, and Innovative Academies.
We’re still in the early stages of gathering data and exploring options to ensure any future steps are well-informed. Any potential recommendations will be approached with careful consideration of the impact on students, staff, and the community. No decisions have been made at this time regarding the optimization of specific campuses or specific feeder patterns.
Are we still planning to build new schools in the northern part of the district, and if we don't, does that save anything?
We are committed to building the schools approved in our May 2023 bond. Those include Elementary School #31, which is in the northeast part of the district, and Elementary School #32, which is in the Travisso community.
Have we considered selling any district-owned property for revenue?
This is a possibility and will actually be a discussion with the board of trustees at the upcoming meeting on Feb. 13, 2025. As we explore this possibility, we have to be very thoughtful about the parcels of land that we do own and their intended use. We also have to think long-term, as there are no large parcels of land for sale inside the boundaries of our district. Finally, while the sale of land can provide a one-time infusion of revenue, we have to be mindful of the fact that this does not solve the budgeting problem in the long run.
Will anyone get a raise for 2025-26?
Currently, the budget assumptions that were adopted by the board of trustees on Jan. 23, 2025, do not include a raise.
Will Leander ISD reassess its pay structure to ensure fairer compensation and more equitable allocation of funds?
Leander ISD is currently engaging in a salary study review through the Texas Association of School Boards. This third-party review analyzes our current pay structures in relation to market as well as internal equity.
When decisions are made regarding central office, will that be disclosed as well?
The administration is currently analyzing central office positions and potential reductions. For full transparency, we will communicate those reductions to our community once finalized.
What is the definition of attrition?
Attrition is the reduction of positions by employees leaving and not being replaced rather than by their being laid off.
What are the surplus guidelines for campuses that have to reduce staff?
Teachers possessing and meeting the terms of their employment contract with Leander ISD will not be losing their jobs. Teachers assigned to a position that is being eliminated because of a decline in enrollment, a program change, or a modification of staffing guidelines will be designated as an employee in a “surplus position.”
The identification of an employee as surplus is based on seniority within the district with some exceptions. Exceptions include employees that were listed in previous years as a surplus employee, employees with special certifications, bilingual employees for campus specific needs, employees possessing specialized training, those responsible for campus specific initiatives, etc.
Why was the Empowerment Fund created instead of using that money toward our budget?
At the time that we asked the board to commit those funds out of fund balance, we anticipated that we would be able to manage the building budget situation. The Empowerment Fund is for one-time costs and were never intended to be items that would roll into the larger operating budget.
At this time, we have paused the Empowerment Fund and will be returning these funds to the fund balance. We have reached out to all of the teams that had submitted applications to the Empowerment Fund to make them aware. We appreciate the work they have done on these projects and want to partner with them to help find another grant funding source.
If we get new funding from the state, would we consider continuing the IB program since it will still be in place from phasing it out?
We recognize the value of IB’s rigorous curriculum and global perspective; however, we must ensure that our programs are both sustainable and equitably accessible to all students. As we navigate budget constraints and shifting enrollment patterns, we are prioritizing initiatives that maximize impact across the district.
Our focus remains on expanding advanced academic pathways, such as Advanced Placement (AP), dual credit, and specialized career and technical education (CTE) programs, which provide rigorous coursework while offering greater flexibility and affordability for students and families.
