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Clear Creek ISD strategic budget team urges revenue growth, facility consolidation and a phased tax‑rate option to address multi‑year deficits
Summary
Administrators presented recommendations from a strategic budget team and updated forecasts that show an $18.3 million projected general fund deficit for FY27 under current assumptions; the team recommended pursuing revenue enhancements (including a voter‑approved tax‑rate election), rightsizing facilities, and a 2% payroll reduction via attrition and vacancy management.
At the July 13 board meeting Dr. Ingle and district finance staff presented highlights from a strategic budget team convened in June that included parents, business leaders and current and former trustees. The group reviewed enrollment trends, facility utilization and financial pressures facing the district and returned ranked recommendations for staff consideration.
Dr. Ingle summarized the strategic budget team’s three buckets of recommendations — revenue enhancement, facility operations and efficiencies, and school/staffing optimization — and stressed the advisory nature of the group. "These are recommendations for consideration," he said. The recommendations included pursuing all available revenue sources, more aggressive student recruitment and attendance efforts, a phased, data‑driven facility consolidation plan, and preparing the community for a potential voter‑approved tax‑rate election of up to nine copper pennies.
Ms. Benzai walked trustees through the district’s fiscal picture. She said CCISD adopted a $12.5 million budget deficit for the current year and, under existing forecast assumptions (no salary increases, enrollment declines of about 1,000 then 750 students), staff projected a FY27 general fund deficit of roughly $18.3 million. "We are anticipating it will be half of that," she said about the current year's adopted deficit and noted staff are continuing work to refine the forecast.
The presentation included utilization and operational‑cost figures: districtwide capacity and enrollment numbers across high school, intermediate and elementary levels; operational cost per student for specialized campuses (Clear Horizons, ClearPath, Clearview); and central office facilities data. Mr. Miller and Mr. Houston described how smaller campuses and staffing changes affect program delivery and per‑student operating costs.
Key recommended actions the team ranked included: strategically reducing payroll costs by 2% through attrition and vacancy management by August 2027; selling or leasing underutilized land; continuing targeted enrollment growth (open enrollment, ClearTech, early education expansions); and implementing a phased facility optimization plan coupled with community engagement.
Trustees asked for more fiscal detail tied to recommendations and whether the advisory group could reconvene to validate priorities. Administrators said large‑item revenue and facility impact estimates were provided to the team and that staff would pull together dollar estimates for priority items and could reconvene or brief the committee further.
Why it matters: Administrators said enrollment declines and state funding structure are the primary long‑term threats to the district’s fiscal health. The package presented combines revenue options and expenditure adjustments; the board must decide what mix of levers (including whether to call a tax‑rate election) to deploy as staff move from recommendations to formal proposals.
