The Cypress-Fairbanks ISD trustees don’t see eye to eye on every issue but they appeared to agree at a May 21 budget workshop that layoffs and shuttered campuses should be a last resort when dealing with a $67.4 million deficit.
Cy-Fair and many other Texas school districts are facing shrinking enrollment, which translates to fewer dollars from the state, and unfunded mandates like required upgrades to school buses and restrictions on a senior tax exemption.
The Texas Education Agency has the option, by state statute, of covering half of the funds lost by the district’s 20 percent homestead exemption, but has declined to do so in recent years and there’s little hope that will change, said Superintendent Doug Killian. In an April meeting, district CFO Karen Smith said about $72 million in lost property tax revenue is tied to the exemption, which would cover the deficit.
The deficit was originally calculated at $74 million last month, but Smith presented an updated version of the budget on May 7 with the lower deficit figure, which does not include employee stipends or increased contributions to health insurance, which the board agreed Thursday to prioritize.
Cy-Fair ISD is slated to adopt its 2026-27 budget in late June. Killian said Thursday he’s recommending a “VATRE,” voter-approved tax rate election, of 12 pennies, which would increase property taxes for a homeowner with a property valued at $350,000 by about $126 per year.
“If you want to crucify me over this, that’s fine, but I think we need to go for 12 pennies,” he said. “We need to go for it all because we need to get out of this mess and stop worrying about whether or not we can talk the state into giving us [more funding].”
CFISD was told by the Harris County Elections Office that it couldn’t call a $1.6 billion bond election for May because too many other elections were already planned during that time. Trustees did not discuss a potential bond at Thursday’s meeting. If the board approves a measure asking voters for a tax hike, it would likely occur in November when midterm elections are already planned.
Trustee Todd LeCompte pointed out that a VATRE isn’t guaranteed. Fort Bend ISD tried to pass one in 2022 to get out of a $46.8 million budget deficit, and the measure failed with 54 percent of voters opposing it. Fort Bend ISD’s finances haven’t improved since the unsuccessful VATRE election; the district is facing a $38.5 million shortfall for the 2026-27 school year.
If Cy-Fair’s VATRE doesn’t pass, Killian said the district will have to make about $80 million in cuts for the 2027-28 school year. “I don’t want to be in the position of having to go through cuts again,” he said. “It’s traumatic for our staff and it drives people out of the district for something more stable.”
Board secretary Lesley Guilmart advocated for paraprofessional raises and the reinstatement of librarians. “Our paras need so much more than we’re giving them right now,” she said. “I would presume that, for the most part, teachers are able to keep the lights on and feed themselves. What might we be able to take off teachers’ plates if we’re not able to give them the raises they deserve?”
Guilmart didn’t get an answer to her question, as board president Julie Hinaman said trustees should keep the discussion focused on budget figures rather than teacher duties.
Smith said Thursday that the budget is based on an enrollment of 112,316. “The declines in enrollment amount to about $26.7 million less in state funding,” she said, noting that expenditures increased to account for the implementation of virtual school, fuel inflation, textbooks and HVAC preventative maintenance.
Killian said the state’s contribution to employee health insurance has not increased since the current plan was installed in 2002. “That is absolutely offensive,” he said.
As if anticipating staff cuts or salary freezes, six speakers addressed the board on Thursday about livable wages for paraprofessionals and teachers. A student, Lexi Clemons, supported the VATRE and said more of the budget should go toward reinforcing positive student behavior.
Bleyl Middle School teacher Chad Simmonds said public education is being sacrificed to sell tax cuts and voucher programs. “I’ve seen the happiest of us become heavy-hearted and resign after straining against abuse of students and lack of institutional support,” he said. “I’ve seen students struggle and rightfully rail against an institution that compels their attendance but neglects the reality of their needs.”
Hal Bronson, a CFISD psychologist, told a story of a paraprofessional who had a miscarriage on Easter Sunday and had to return to school just two days later because she needed her $21,739 salary to pay hospital bills. “It’s unacceptable,” Bronson said. “Paraprofessionals are the backbone of this district. They do not deserve the pay that they are currently getting.”
Paraprofessional Dominique Chaidez, a single mom of three CFISD students, also advocated for increased pay. “As a para, I’ve had to make very difficult decisions, like paying my rent or buying groceries,” she said. “There are paras who travel from one campus to another, and there’s no incentive. There’s no gas money. There’s no mileage. There’s not even a coupon for an oil change. We get nothing. We get a lot of empty, “We appreciate you.’ Unfortunately, appreciation can’t fill the gas tank or change the oil.”
Another speaker, Jeremy Eugene, said paraprofessionals should make a livable wage. “When there is a pay raise, we never really have a chance to see the raise because our insurance takes all of the money we should be earning,” he said.
Killian has said that he’s not seeking to immediately cut staff or eliminate the senior homestead exemption. At Thursday’s meeting, he referenced the speaker comments about staff compensation and noted that 90 percent of the district’s budget goes toward payroll.
“It is absolutely true that we’re not as competitive as we need to be,” he said. “We can’t keep up with the Joneses if we don’t have more revenue. I know there’s been some talk about doing something with hourly folks. Absolutely they need a pay increase, but we need more revenue to be able to do that.”
The superintendent added that Cy-Fair ISD operates efficiently but hasn’t kept up with inflation over the last 15 years because the legislature has not approved annual increases in state funding.
Although teachers are guaranteed “step increases” when they reach certain milestones in their careers, 1 percent pay increases could cost the district $5.1 million and paraprofessional raises could cost more than $10 million, according to Thursday night’s presentation. Killian offered an option of approving one-time $500 stipends for all employees to avoid the need for future layoffs.
CFISD administrators have said that declining enrollment can be attributed to families withdrawing their kids for private schools, charter schools or homeschool, in addition to those leaving the country due to concerns about immigration enforcement. The birthrate has declined, and fewer families with school-age kids are moving into the district, Smith said last month.
Some have argued that Gov. Greg Abbott’s school voucher program is taking money directly out of public schools and giving it away to parents whose kids were already enrolled in, and can therefore afford to attend, private schools. Killian pointed out that families selected for the voucher program are getting $10,000 per child, while public school districts get about $6,000 per child from the state.
Cy-Fair hasn’t shut down schools yet, although that’s happening in Houston, Spring Branch, Alvin, Pasadena and Fort Bend ISDs. Trustees have said previously that keeping schools open despite the declining enrollment increases the financial burden of continuing to run bus routes, pay teachers and have supplies on hand even though there are fewer students and less state funding.
Trustee Christine Kalmbach said that if the district uses more than four months of fund balance, a financial disaster would be created, prompting the possibility of school closures.
“We don’t want to close any schools,” she said. “We don’t want to have to tell a community they’re not going to have a school in their subdivision or area. That’s a reality we’re going to have to face. If we don’t make good decisions now with the money that we have, it will be even worse next year.”
Board vice president Cleveland Lane said the district has already made a considerable investment to establish itself as a leader in educational programs and college preparedness. “We’re at the stage now where we’re stabilized and we have to take care of it from this point on,” he said. “The water is circling the drain. This is our time for the community to look into how we’re going to reinvest in what has already been built.”
He noted the competition from private and charter schools and said, “We have to support our personnel.”
Board member Justin Ray said the board has just three options: a VATRE, hope that the Legislature will offer tax relief in the 2027 session or “very substantial cuts.” This may not be the year to “add back” librarians, he said.
“There’s not a whole lot of nibbling around the edges,” he said. “There’s not a whole lot of hidden revenue that we can find. I think the goal of this budget is flexibility and a little bit of prudence in light of the unknown. In the next budget, there will be a lot more known.”
Hinaman emphasized that the underfunding of public education is impacting districts across the state. “There are many, many school districts that are significantly cutting staff and closing campuses and doing no raises,” she said. “We have talked about this. We knew that this was coming.”
