Richardson ISD weighs raises, cuts amid growing budget shortfall

Richardson ISD is trying to promise teachers and staff more money while its finances keep moving the other direction, a squeeze that could show up next school year in staffing levels, campus support and the range of programs families see in classrooms.

At an April 23 board work session, trustees reviewed a 2026-2027 compensation and budget discussion that put three raise options on the table, with estimated costs ranging from $8.3 million to $10.8 million. At the same time, district leaders have recommended cuts that would eliminate roughly 95 full-time positions as RISD tries to steady its finances before the 2026-27 budget is approved.

The district’s April 7 budget-efficiency plan set a target of $25.7 million in reduced spending. RISD said it had already trimmed about $16 million over the previous two years, mostly from central and administrative operations, and the new round would go further with a standardized staffing model for elementary and secondary support, fewer campus support positions, aligning Central Office jobs with current enrollment and a more efficient secondary schedule.

Even after those changes, the district is still facing a deficit of more than $21 million. Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Support Services David Pate told the board RISD could also absorb as much as $1 million in additional expenses next year before raises are even added in.

The board report also pointed to two possible ways to bring in more money. RISD is considering raising xPlore Tuition afternoon rates by $5 to $6 per week, a move that could generate about $350,000, and a voter-approval tax rate election that would increase the tax rate by 3.17 cents and bring in about $7.7 million.

Enrollment keeps complicating the picture. RISD has been losing students since 2020, and districtwide enrollment was 36,247 in 2025-26. A December report said the district had 36,969 students as of Oct. 27, 2025, down 652 from the year before and more than 2,700 below the 2019 peak. Nearly 80% of that year-over-year drop came from the district’s emergent bilingual population.

That decline matters because school funding in Texas is tied closely to student counts, even as fixed costs remain. RISD is also weighing a $450,000 marketing campaign to try to reverse the trend, including a broader district awareness effort and its “RISD is the ONE” branding push.

The current strain follows last year’s budget cycle, when RISD adopted a 2025-26 operating budget with about $439 million in spending, $401 million in revenue and roughly $10 million from other sources, leaving a projected $28 million shortfall. The district also expected about $6 million in recapture and projected enrollment would fall by 430 students. When that budget was approved, RISD said the property tax rate would be $1.0905 per $100 of assessed value, below the then-current $1.10520, and later said the rate would be the lowest in 40 years.

Board president Chris Poteet has warned the district is approaching an exponential cliff. For Richardson families, the next budget will decide how much that cliff reaches into classrooms, from staffing and compensation to support services and school programs.