Plano ISD presents peer staffing and budget comparisons; staff note data lags and per-student spending gaps

Plano ISD's CFO Courtney Reeves presented the district's annual peer staffing review at the Feb. 18 work session, using Forecast5 analytics to compare Plano to local DFW peers and statewide peers on enrollment, staffing and spending. Reeves said some presented data are lagged'enrollment and FTE figures from 2024 and certain financials from 2022—23'but remain useful for comparison.

Key points Reeves highlighted: the 2024 kindergarten cohort counted 3,034 students and the 12th-grade cohort 3,824, a 790-student difference that feeds into enrollment and staffing planning; Plano's per-student general-fund spending for 2023 was about $11,529 compared with a DFW peer average near $12,340 and a state maintenance-and-operations figure of about $11,110. Reeves walked trustees through FTE comparisons across categories (teachers, counselors, nurses, educational aides, professional support and central administration) and noted that coding differences between districts can skew position-based comparisons. She and deputy superintendent Johnny Hill discussed indicator 13 (administrative cost ratio), which is expenditure-based and provides a different apples-to-apples comparison than per-position counts.

Trustees asked for examples of coding differences and the district said it will follow up with Forecast5 for deeper breakdowns; staff also noted that some peer-group data are recommended by Forecast5 and that maps and route-level transport data will follow other presentations.

Reeves closed by pointing to the district's fund balance and cash-flow considerations, noting Plano held about $280 million in fund balance for fiscal 2023 and that a sizable portion of local property collections are concentrated in December'February, which shapes cash-flow planning for the year.