Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Giddings ISD cites enrollment decline and missing free/reduced forms that shrink funding; district weighs staff reductions
Summary
CFO Angie Bloodworth told trustees a drop in enrollment and 263 fewer completed free/reduced forms have cut state and federal funding by hundreds of thousands of dollars, prompting administrators to consider attrition-based staff reductions and program changes to close a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar gap.
CFO Angie Bloodworth told the Giddings ISD Board of Trustees on Jan. 15 that lower enrollment and a steep fall in returned free/reduced meal forms have combined to reduce the district's state and federal funding by substantial amounts, forcing district leaders to consider staffing and program adjustments.
Bloodworth said the district's current enrollment is 1,788, down from the August projection of 1,842, and that the district's refined average-daily-attendance (ADA) estimate used for funding calculations is 1,745 compared with the template figure of 1,688. "If you look at number 21, you'll see we're down another $345,000 for a decline in ADA," she said. She added that the district lost 263 completed economically disadvantaged forms, a drop she estimated is costing the district roughly $417,000 and also reducing eligibility calculations for federal programs such as Title I.
"If we have free meals to hold over somebody's head to get this back, then that's what we need to do," Bloodworth said, arguing that families who do not return the forms while receiving Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) meals remove critical funding signals used in state and federal formulas. She told trustees the loss affects multiple lines in the foundation school program: "Our share of our tier one went down by 863,000. And then our tier 2, which is our weighted average daily attendance, costs us $150,000."
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Human Resources Shane Holman presented staffing formulas and a historical staffing study the district used to compare current staffing to recommended ratios. Holman said the district's staffing allotments were created with TASB assistance in 2016–17 and that the district is now overstaffed in several areas relative to those formulas. "If someone resigns from Giddings ISD, I want their principal or their supervisor to meet with Angie and I and present data that shows that we have to fill that position," Holman said. He said the district plans to prioritize attrition and vacancy review before making layoffs, but warned that programmatic changes or nonrenewal of probationary contracts may be needed if sufficient savings are not identified.
Board members pressed for clarity on timing and oversight. Trustee Roy Kruemcke Jr. said the board felt surprised by the scale of the shortfall: "I feel like we got pretty well blindsided with this." Trustee Spencer Schneider emphasized the immediate budget pressure and the need to modify spending practices, while trustees asked administration to pursue zero-based budgeting for fiscal 2026–27 and to prioritize instructionally critical expenditures.
District leaders listed possible immediate and near-term steps: require completed free/reduced forms when feasible, tighten nonessential spending, apply attrition rather than immediate hires to fill vacancies, and examine retiree rehiring fees that the state recently allowed districts to pass along to retirees. Bloodworth also said the district is examining copier and print-shop consolidation and other operational savings.
Holman and Bloodworth provided an illustrative estimate of potential savings from staffing adjustments but cautioned that even aggressive attrition-based reductions may not produce the full amount the district needs and that some changes could affect course offerings or program delivery. Trustees asked campus administrators to document any position they want filled and to bring that justification to district administration for review.
The board did not vote on staffing changes at the Jan. 15 meeting. Administrators said principals will present recommended staffing decisions as vacancies arise and that the board will face decisions about probationary-contract renewals if attrition alone does not reach required savings. The district also announced plans to begin zero-based budgeting for 2026–27 and to continue monitoring enrollment and ADA as the year progresses.
Ending: The trustees scheduled further review and directed administration to return with formal proposals and documentation for any recommended position fills or eliminations; the board will revisit budget reductions and staffing in coming meetings.
