Georgetown ISD projects $3.7 million shortfall; trustees weigh staff cuts, larger class sizes and program reductions

Georgetown Independent School District staff told trustees on March 3 that preliminary estimates show a roughly $3.7 million deficit for the 2025–26 fiscal year and outlined a range of cost-cutting options that would affect staffing, class sizes and student programs.

The district's chief financial officer, Jennifer Hannah, presented early revenue and expenditure assumptions and cautioned that many figures could change depending on the outcome of the Texas legislative session and certified property values. She said the district is treating these figures as a starting point for three months of “painful but necessary” budget decisions leading up to adoption next spring.

Hannah said the district's preliminary revenue estimate is about $168.4 million and that the district would send roughly $18.3 million in recapture to the state under current assumptions. Using a demographer's projection of 14,060 students and a 93% adjusted prekindergarten attendance rate, the district is using an average daily attendance figure of about 13,076 for funding projections. Hannah described several legislative proposals under consideration — including Senate Bill 26 and House Bill 2 — but warned that “nothing about this funding flows directly to the district…