NEISD budget study: planned staff reductions, health-plan outlook and HB2 funding changes

At a budget study session, Susie Lackhorn, executive director of finance and accounting for the Northeast Independent School District, told the Board of Trustees the district is proposing central-office and campus staffing adjustments to reduce costs and presented an initial forecast for the district’s self-funded health plan and the expected impact of recently passed state education legislation (House Bill 2).

Lackhorn summarized staffing changes that have already produced savings in prior years and identified further reductions for 2025–26. She said the district eliminated 24 central-office positions last year, producing about $1.6 million in savings, and that for 2025–26 the district has identified roughly five central-office position reductions plus restructuring that together represent about $462,000 in savings at the time the slides were prepared. For campus staffing, Lackhorn said projected reductions include 110 teacher positions (estimated savings about $7.9 million), 14 nonteaching professionals and 27 campus assistants; she presented total multi-year savings figures she characterized as roughly $4.0 million to the general fund and $5.8 million across other…