The Lake Travis Independent School District presented its proposed 2025–26 general operating, debt service and food service budgets at the July board meeting, forecasting a net change in the general fund balance of a $4,200,000 deficit and asking the board to call a public hearing on the budgets and tax rate for Aug. 20.

The proposed budgets incorporate funding from the Legislature’s House Bill 2 and local assumptions, including a projected 3.9% decline in taxable property values tied to recent homestead exemptions. “The net change in fund balance to our budget is a deficit of 4,200,000.0,” Pam said during the presentation. She added the district expects a one-time surplus from changing the fiscal year that will improve the ending fund balance by roughly $10 million by June.

Why it matters: property tax collections supply about 88% of general fund revenue and payroll accounts for roughly 81% of expenditures. With HB2 funding increases largely tied to mandated pay, administrators are balancing the newly available state funds against rising costs and required salary steps.

What the board approved at the meeting: trustees voted to call a public meeting to discuss and adopt the 2025–26 budgets and the district’s tax rate at 6 p.m. Aug. 20 and authorized staff to publish a tax-rate notice of $1.00397 for the statutorily required truth-in-taxation notice.

Compensation and assumptions: the proposed budget includes the legislatively authorized teacher retention allotment—$2,500 for teachers with three to four years’ experience and $5,000 for teachers with five or more years—and a 1% midpoint increase for other staff. Pam distributed a staffing breakdown showing about 119 teachers with one to two years’ experience, 79 with three to four years, and 486 with five-plus years. “We want to make sure that our decisions are data driven,” a district staff member said while reviewing compensation options.

Budget reductions and openings: district leaders described targeted reductions—campus budgets trimmed 10% and department budgets reduced 50%—and said many of the positions reduced were the result of vacancy reviews rather than immediate layoffs. “Nobody lost their job,” a member of the administration said when explaining how some monitors and aides were repurposed or offered other roles.

Next steps: the board will publish the statutorily required notice and hold the public hearing on Aug. 20; administrators said they will return in August with final budget adoption, tax-rate ordinances and any amended compensation plan.