The Eanes Board and community came together for a special Budget Workshop Nov. 11 to discuss the $3.3 million net budget deficit for 2024-25. Chief financial officer Chris Scott and other members of the leadership team presented seven possible solutions to increase revenue or reduce costs with the goal of creating a plan to have a net $500K in savings while “keeping the welfare of our students, staff and families at the forefront.” 

The four recommended solutions include adopting nine Copper Pennies, adding naming rights for EISD facilities, blending Valley View Elementary (VVE) and Barton Creek Elementary (BCE) and removing Professional Learning Community (PLC) periods. Removing the Spanish Immersion (SI) programs from elementary schools, staff reductions via attrition and freezing salaries were also presented as identified solutions.

“The state has put our district and many others in the state into this very difficult financial position,” board president James Spradley said. “We have been closely monitoring our finances for years, and some unfortunate changes that the state decided to make over the summer helped to take us deeper into this hole. We have never faced a budget shortfall as big as the one currently in front of us.”

A deficit was projected for the 2024-2025 school year and beyond in June, but the June projection did not require immediate action from the district. The June projection did not see the fund balance percentage of operating expenses fall below 25%  until the 2026-2027 school year, leaving time for administration to make decisions after the 2025 legislative session. 

Due to declines in student enrollment, federal funding and property tax appraisals, lower investment earnings and a lack of increase in state funding, projections in October found the balance to fall under the 25% threshold next year with a $6.3 million deficit that will increase the following years. With action required as early as January 2025, the board of trustees gathered to discuss possible actions and decide which solutions to investigate further. 

Adopting Copper Pennies (VATRE)

By adopting up to nine Copper Pennies through a Voter Approval Tax Raise Election (VATRE), property taxes will increase in the district, providing an additional $20 million in tax revenue. However, due to recapture, the district will only keep $4 million and the other $16 million will go to the state. 

By adopting all nine Copper Pennies, taxes would increase on average by $1,331 per year for homeowners. Due to the large increase in taxes and ratio of money that is kept in the district, Scott described it as “one of those break the glass scenarios” and an “extremely bad deal for district taxpayers.” Adopting Copper Pennies is the largest individual money generating idea and does not affect students, staff and programs at the schools. 

“This is not easy for us to recommend,” superintendent Dr. Jeff Arnett said. “We understand all of the downsides to this. At the top of that list would be the potential impact on resident homeowners and taxpayers in our district… Nonetheless, of all the things on the list that we could identify, this is the one that would yield the greatest amount of revenue to offset the potential of a $6.5 million deficit as early as next year.”

Selling Naming Rights

Selling naming rights of Eanes facilities is another solution that would not affect students and staff. While it is estimated to potentially generate $500K in revenue, it is uncertain how much money it will truly generate. None of the trustees opposed selling naming rights, although some have concerns and wish to create a robust policy first and do not see it as a viable option to solve the budget crisis.

Blending Valley View Elementary and Barton Creek Elementary 

Blending VVE and BCE to reduce the amount of elementary schools from six to five has been suggested in past years, and is viewed as one of the more feasible solutions that could be implemented by next year. Enrollment at VVE elementary is much lower than at the other five elementary schools. Only 281 students are enrolled at VVE for the 2024-2025 school year while the other elementary schools have 497 to 579 students. BCE has a building capacity of 819 and would be able to support the BCE and VVE students. Communications with transportation and food services have also confirmed that the blending of the two schools is possible. 

The district could save $2 million by combining the schools, but the plan relies on natural attrition thus it could take multiple years to achieve the projected savings. Furthermore, combining VVE and BCE would be a large change for families and staff. The decision to blend the schools will be made by the end of January 2025 to provide time to begin preparations for the change, such as buying and setting up additional portables.

“I encourage us to do the transition planning as quickly as possible,” board member Ellen Balthazar said. “And to be sure and realize that yes, we need to take care of all of the academic and educational and school and student-centered spaces, but there also is the parent community that is very, very important to this community.”

Eliminating Professional Learning Periods

Eliminating the PLC periods is estimated to save the district $2 million through attrition. The removal of PLC periods would affect 6-12 grade core teachers. PLC periods provide teachers with time designated to plan, work and collaborate with their teams, a unique opportunity for core secondary teachers in Eanes that most school districts do not provide.

“[Schools that offer PLC periods] that we’re aware of are all considering reducing that as well,” Arnett said. “Other school districts are realizing that as they’re in a similar situation, they have to identify similar aspects of their programing that they may have to eliminate as well.”

While it would address the inequity of some teachers receiving PLC periods and others not, the elimination of PLC periods could also affect special education programs as it would remove a designated time for collaboration between special education and general education teams. The removal of PLC periods faced further criticism by some board members as they are a key retention tool due to the low salary rate.

“The secret sauce of why we are the fantastic district that we are is that we have fabulous teachers,” board vice president Kim McMath said. “To take [PLC periods] away from them in this environment–I’d rather look at the awful Copper Pennies than take away more from our teachers.”

Elimination or Modification of Spanish Immersion Program

Another identified solution was the elimination or modification of the SI program. SI is the only enrichment program at the elementary level with approximately 700 students in five of the six elementary schools. The removal or modification of the SI program is projected to save up to $600K. 

The elimination of SI, which is not funded by the state in Eanes, would remove the need to hire additional teachers due to the imbalance between traditional classes and the SI program. However, SI teachers seeking a bilingual stipend would likely move to other districts along with the loss of transfer students and early language acquisition, both of which are large concerns among the community. All 10 public forum speakers expressed concerns about the removal of the SI program.

Freezing Salaries and Staff Reductions

Freezing salaries was presented as a temporary solution that could generate $1.4 million in savings, but with Eanes’ already low salary rate, it would have a negative effect on staff morale and finances, along with making it more difficult to hire new teachers.

Finally, staff reductions through attrition to offset the remaining deficit are another possibility. The staff reductions will primarily affect the middle and high schools as the elementary schools are held to a 22:1 class size standard.

The next regular board meetings are Nov. 19 and Dec. 10. VATRE, blending VVE and BCE and eliminating or modifying the SI program are board decisions that will require a vote in January 2025. The removal of PLC periods, selling naming rights, freezing salaries and staff reductions are primarily administrative decisions that will be made in collaboration with the board of trustees throughout the next couple of months.

“The board will be focused on keeping Eanes ISD an exemplary school district,” Spradley said. “We will focus on our students, our educators and our community.”