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Board hears 2025–26 budget preview as district flags health insurance, SHARS and staffing pressures
Summary
District leaders briefed trustees on budget planning for 2025–26, highlighting uncertainty in TRS ActiveCare premiums, declines in SHARS reimbursements, workers' compensation trends, DCAD reappraisal activity and staffing benchmarks that reflect smaller campus sizes and rising special-education and English-learners populations.
Richardson ISD leaders presented a preliminary look at 2025–26 budget issues at the April 3 board meeting, calling attention to health insurance premium uncertainty, SHARS reimbursement declines, workers' compensation and staffing benchmarks the district uses in planning.
Health insurance and TRS ActiveCare: The district said TRS ActiveCare (the statewide pool) will set premiums in May or June and that both chambers' draft appropriations include $450 million intended to limit TRS ActiveCare premium increases to 10% per year. The district reported that in 2024–25 active-care premiums averaged an 11.2% increase; 61% of RISD’s eligible employees participate in TRS ActiveCare. Staff noted one tradeoff in budgeting: salary increases benefit all employees (and affect TRS retirement calculations) while premium contribution increases only help participating employees’ out-of-pocket costs.
SHARS (School Health and Related Services): District staff confirmed a visible decline in SHARS reimbursements after federal/state guidance changes. They noted pending legislation (mentioned in the legislative update) that would provide state backfill (the supplemental bill amount discussed earlier). Staff also said SHARS is reimbursement-based and that claimed revenue often reflects services provided in prior years.
Workers’ compensation and other costs: The district reported claims have declined slightly; the fund is self-insured with stop-loss coverage for large claims. District staff also noted facilities-age metrics (average facility age cited as 58.8 years) and the need to continue addressing maintenance and infrastructure issues.
Staffing benchmarks and student needs: Trustees saw benchmarking on students-per-staff ratios across multiple categories. Staff emphasized that while enrollment has declined since 2018, the district serves a larger share of students with more-complex needs: emergent bilingual, immigrant, homeless (McKinney-Vento) and special education percentages have increased. The district said Project RightSize reassigned staff; positions have been reduced by attrition rather than layoffs. Administrative-level efficiencies identified by the community budget steering committee (about $2.2 million in cuts) will be included in 2025–26 planning.
Ending
District leaders said the budget will focus on classroom and student supports while seeking efficiencies in central-office costs. They reiterated that uncertainties at the state level (legislation, TRS premium setting and SHARS rules) affect final budgeting and that staff will bring proposed budget decisions to the board when more state information becomes available.
