Edinburg CISD Reports Financial Distress, Enrollment Decline, Projects $15 Million Budget Deficit for 2026-27

Edinburg, Edinburg CISD, Board of Trustees, Budget Workshop, Adele Felix, Tax Rate, Enrollment Decline

Arnoldo Mata

Edinburg TX – The Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees held a budget workshop Aug. 18 in which district officials described the district’s financial situation as a structural deficit and financial distress, with a proposed budget deficit of $15 million for fiscal year 2026-27.

Adele Felix, interim superintendent and chief of finance and operations, presented the district’s fourth budget workshop for the upcoming fiscal year. Felix said the district’s combined local fund balance is projected to fall from about $48 million to roughly $29.9 million, an $18.4 million decrease in one year. She said the district’s cash flow is projected to drop to 34 days on hand, below the state-recommended 75 to 80 days and well under the district’s target of $86 million in fund balance.

Felix proposed a tax rate for fiscal year 2026-27 of $0.8556 total, consisting of a maintenance and operations rate of $0.7706 and an interest and sinking rate of $0.085. The rate is down from the current year’s $0.8617 due to a $0.006 compression required under House Bill 3. Felix said the rate is the lowest in Hidalgo County outside of Brownsville ISD and Point Isabel ISD in Cameron County.

Felix said projected M&O tax revenue for fiscal year 2026-27 is $79,075,453, holding roughly steady compared to the prior year. She said actual collections for the current year came in at $75.54 million, below the $79 million originally projected, due to about $4.1 million in levy modifications.

Felix said enrollment has declined from a peak of 34,327 students to a projected 31,682, with regular unrestricted average daily attendance at about 24,179. She attributed the decline to factors including homeschooling, transfers to other districts, and the effects of immigration enforcement.

Felix said the district has not filled about 170 positions that became vacant through attrition, including retirements and resignations, and said the district has not laid off employees, unlike some neighboring districts.

Felix presented several proposed cost-containment measures for fiscal year 2026-27, including a hiring freeze through attrition, stipend reductions, and a possible one-year freeze on purchasing new technology devices for teachers and students, which she said could save about $6 million. Other proposed cuts include reducing a rural campus stipend from $2,000 to $1,000 annually, eliminating a perfective attendance incentive for teachers, and department-level cuts. Felix said the proposed measures would reduce the projected deficit from an estimated $20 million to $15 million.

Felix said the district received a financial accountability rating of “B,” or 84 points, down from a previous “A” rating, due to the district’s cash flow and fund balance not meeting state indicators.

Felix said she is recommending the formation of a district-wide committee to gather input on cost-saving measures, and that any additional or unrestricted state funding received would be directed back into the district’s fund balance rather than new spending. She said the district plans to propose health insurance changes in mid-September and that Region One Education Service Center will be notified of the district’s financial position.

A public hearing on the proposed budget and tax rate is scheduled for the board’s Aug. 25 meeting.

Source – Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees Budget Workshop, Aug. 18, 2026