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Coppell trustees voted not to close another elementary school. Now, the district struggles for other solutions to fill an $8.5 million deficit.

Even with Texas lawmakers’ $8.5 billion budget boost for education, Dallas ISD is still operating at a budget deficit, trustee Ben Mackey told a forum Thursday. He said the district has the reserves to manage it well — but that may not last.

Coppell ISD’s school board Monday night delayed a controversial vote to possibly close Town Center Elementary School following enrollment declines and an $8.5 million deficit. But a vote could reappear on the Oct. 27 agenda.

Dallas ISD’s deficit of $187 million should be down to $128 million by the next fiscal year after the districts cut positions, services, and supplies. Now it waits for state lawmakers to increase state education funding after they passed a bill creating Education Savings Accounts, which will send public dollars to private schools.

The program cuts, confirmed in a letter to staff and families Feb. 11, ignited reactions from students and parents who credit these programs with their academic success.

The district could be the latest in North Texas to close schools as it struggles with a $19 million deficit. Some families are already pushing to keep McCoy Elementary open in case it’s at risk.

Arlington ISD has been forced to adjust to an unfamiliar problem, according to officials: budget deficits.

Denton ISD has been operating at a budget deficit since the 2023-24 school year. At the present, the district has whittled a $33 million deficit to $19 million through a menu of cost-saving measures.

During new President Harrison Keller's first Faculty Senate meeting at the University of North Texas, administrators said a dip in enrollment and increased costs call for belt tightening for 2024-25 and a new approach to budgeting going forward.

Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD administrators had one goal as they pored over the district’s next budget: protect classrooms.

The Keller Education Foundation this week announced the Ongoing Needs and Essentials Fund for educators who need resources that might not be offered in the district's budget.

Superintendents blame budget cuts and campus closures on no new state education funding since 2019, inflation, unfunded mandates and enrollment declines. They may be forced to exercise additional budget cuts for next year.