DENTON, Texas — Nothing sums up the funding crisis facing public schools in Texas like the brand-new building sitting empty in Little Elm.
Fred Hill Elementary School was supposed to welcome up to 750 students for the first time, but Denton ISD doesn’t have enough money to run it.
“You know it’s disappointing anytime you have a facility on the ground when you can’t open it,” Dr. Susannah Holbert-O’Bara, the new superintendent of Denton ISD, told WFAA.
She is frustrated by the lack of funding from the state legislature, which forced the district to postpone the opening of its new school.
“We won’t have an option but to open it next year. We’re not going to have facilities for all our children if we don’t because that particular part of our zone is growing,” O'Bara explained.
And it’s not alone. While the state hasn’t increased its per-pupil funding since 2019, the district’s student population has surged 9% in that time.
“The fantastic thing about Denton ISD is children keep coming," O'Bara said. "We continue to grow."
The new superintendent brings a personal connection to the role. O’Bara is a lifelong resident who came up through the public school system and graduated from Denton High School. She started her career in the classroom, teaching at several elementary schools in the district. She’s seen the tremendous growth firsthand.
“As a fast growth system, we have particular parts of our district where capacity is a problem," O'Bara said. "We’re opening Martinez Elementary this year. We were anticipating 350 to 400 students at that school, but I just left a meeting, we’re up over 500 already! So some of those classrooms may have 23 or 24 students, that were designed for 22.”
Denton ISD had to impose a hiring freeze, and right now more than 100 positions remain unfilled – including hers. O’Bara said, “Any position that we could reallocate personnel to help, that’s what we’ve done. My former position, for example, I’m going to be doing both of those. That means other people will be doing that work, me included, to make sure that we keep priorities in the classroom and all our resources there.” And despite all that, Denton ISD will still run a deficit this year.
Teachers can’t consistently give dozens of students the one-on-one attention they might need. However, intervention specialists fill that gap, coming into the classroom to help students struggling in areas like English, reading or math.
“We’ve always had positions that were shared across campuses, but we’ll have more of that now, which interferes with the ability to develop relationships," O'Bara said.
The new superintendent said specialists will rotate more often, some covering both math and reading, which will impact even the high-performing schools.
“Our campuses that data suggests don’t need as much support will have minimal support this year," O'Bara said. "The sad thing about that is, there isn’t a campus we have that doesn’t have some children with needs.”
Some educators have taken it upon themselves to lobby for more funding. But Attorney General Ken Paxton has been quick to identify those he feels crossed a line. The AG’s office sued several districts in North Texas for breaking the state’s election laws, including Frisco, Aledo, Castleberry, Dennison and Denton ISD.
Two Principals from the district face criminal charges. A grand jury indicted Lindsay Lujan and her husband Jesus, for using their official email accounts to encourage staff to vote for Republicans and Democrats who oppose vouchers and support public schools.
When asked if a criminal indictment was appropriate, Dr. O’Bara told WFAA, “It felt at the time like an overreach. When you’re a principal at a campus that is highly at risk, and you know those children come to you every day because they’re dependent on you, I think their job is to continue to advocate for those children.”
Texas lawmakers had a $33 billion budget surplus to work with in 2023. But some say public school funding lost out to a dispute over private school vouchers.
“I’m not in their seat, I don’t do their work, I’m not having to consider all the things they do. But I would say without a doubt, it feels like it was held hostage based on the educational savings accounts,” O'Bara said about the surplus.
With these kinds of challenges, it’s natural to think no one would want to run a school district right now. But O’Bara says it continues to be purpose-driven work.
“Everything about my background has been in teaching and learning," O'Bara explained. "I’m excited to use that, to ensure that all our children are receiving high-quality education.”
She points to the fact that the district will have 76 teachers from Teach Denton this year. The program identifies potential students in Denton ISD and partners with local universities to give them training, with the goal of having them come back to teach one day.
Based on her personal experience, O’Bara is a big advocate for cultivating homegrown talent. “The very first principal I hired in this new role was a graduate of ours, he graduated from Guyer High School. He’s excited to be here because it’s his home," O'Bara said.
With no money for raises this year, O'Bara sees motivation as an essential part of her mission. She is trying to let staff members know how valued they are.
“Everyone not on campus, myself included, our role is to support you," O'Bara said. "If what we’re doing doesn’t feel like support, to be sure that students can learn and teachers can teach, then we need you to pick up the phone and call because we’re here to ensure that teachers can do their job."