Frisco ISD’s 2026-27 budget planning is well underway, continuing with a recent Board of Trustees workshop that also included a review of the Comprehensive Sustainability Plan.
At the workshop, Trustees and District leadership discussed several ways to realign resources in response to continued enrollment decline. A fall demographic update presented by PASA projects that Frisco ISD’s enrollment will decrease from 63,000 students to 53,000 in the next decade.
With those projections in mind, District leaders outlined cost-cutting measures aimed at reducing a projected $28.6 million projected budget deficit for 2026-27. Those measures include:
Retiring Staley Middle School. This move also right-sizes all Frisco ISD middle school sectors, a focus of the District’s new capacity optimization framework identifying underutilized facilities.
Reducing 171 full-time teaching positions through attrition to adjust for enrollment decline while maintaining average class sizes.
Restructuring the middle school instructional coach program.
These steps build on actions the District has already taken as enrollment has declined. Over the past several years, Frisco ISD has reduced its workforce through attrition and restructuring, saving millions of dollars by leaving open positions unfilled in central administration and by making campus-level adjustments during both budget planning and the school year. Throughout this process, the District’s priority has been to minimize the impact on students.
Alongside cost reductions, the discussion also included potential sources of revenue outside the state’s funding formula. District leaders noted that revenue alone cannot eliminate the shortfall and must be paired with continued budget cuts.
Efforts already underway to stabilize enrollment and generate revenue include expanding Access Frisco, new for the 2025-26 school year, and introducing Frisco Flex for 2026-27. Because official enrollment numbers will not be finalized until this spring, neither program has been factored into the budget yet.
What’s next
Budget development continues this spring.
February - Campus and department budget review. Budget savings options.
March - Review of debt strategy. Board budget workshop #2.
April - Peer benchmarking. Compensation review. Preliminary certified values. Board budget workshop #3.
May - Final budget recommendations, including compensation plan. Board budget workshop #4 if needed.
June - Budget public hearing. Budget adoption.