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Hutto ISD proposes balanced 2026–27 budget, holds maintenance tax flat at 75.5¢
Summary
District staff told the Hutto ISD Board the proposed 2026–27 budget would be balanced — reversing last year’s $3.5 million deficit — while proposing a flat maintenance-and-operations tax of 75.5¢ and maintaining a 45¢ debt-service tax. The presentation relies on enrollment growth and holding most nonpayroll and payroll costs flat.
The Hutto ISD Board of Trustees held a public hearing on the proposed 2026–27 budget on June 25, during which district staff presented a balanced budget proposal that staff said closes the year with revenues equal to expenditures after a prior-year $3.5 million deficit. "As you can see, 26, 27 revenues equal expenditures, and so we are closing a balanced budget," the presenter said.
Staff described the approach as cautious: holding payroll and most nonpayroll budgets flat while relying on enrollment to reach revenue targets. The presenter told the board the district used its most recent demographer report and set enrollment projections for next year at 11,479, and an average-daily-attendance goal of 94%, a figure the presenter called "lofty" given last year finished just under 93%.
The board and staff discussed tradeoffs behind the balanced stance. Trustees asked what the district had "said no to" in order to obtain balance; staff and board members said much of the restraint came from not increasing payroll across the board and from targeted reprioritization rather than across-the-board new spending. The chair noted payroll's share of operational expenditures has risen from 78% in 2020 to over 80% today, a factor that constrains flexibility.
