DALLAS — For school districts across North Texas, the math isn't adding up -- and budgets are falling short.
Fort Worth ISD announced it will lay off some staff members, Dallas ISD said it will cut duplicate and under-enrolled programs, Richardson ISD is facing a "significant deficit" and Plano ISD has formed a committee to examine whether it needs to close some schools.
"It's definitely at what I would say is at a crisis moment," said Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde. "I definitely think that all of our school districts are in similar situations financially."
Watch the full interview with Stephanie Elizalde here:
No one cause is to blame, although the state legislature not providing addition per pupil funding while mandating new security measures did not help, districts said. Declining enrollment, which affects funding the districts receive on a per student basis and pandemic-era federal funding running out have affected district's bottom lines as well.
"It's very difficult on school districts right now," said former Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa. "Some districts had some reserve, but that's like paying your mortgage with a credit card – you can't keep doing that."
Fort Worth ISD held a meeting Tuesday to discuss the layoffs, which the superintendent said would be announced to affected staff members on Friday.
"We understand the profound impact that these decisions have on each member of our team," said Superintendent Angelica Ramsey. "It is with a heavy heart that we make these decisions, and we are doing so as early as possible to provide ample time for affected employees to explore alternative opportunities."
Dallas ISD has said it faces a budget deficit this coming school year as well, but expects to avoid major staffing cuts.
"We saw the direction the legislature was going," Elizalde said. "So we have been making these decisions a little bit at a time so that hopefully the decisions aren’t painful. They may be uncomfortable, but I’m hoping to avoid pain."
In addition to cutting some programs, she said DISD will not fill all vacant positions nor replace all staff who retire this summer.
"It's much easier to eliminate a position where no person exists than go ahead and tell someone that we're going to do a layoff," she said.
But making the math work in a school district is getting harder, especially without action from the legislature.
"To say that it’s not frustrating would be disingenuous," Elizalde said. I also don’t think we can use that as an excuse though."