Houston ISD directs schools to cut staff and slash spending amid higher than expected enrollment losses

By Sneha Dey, The Texas Tribune
September 23, 2026

Houston ISD administrators directed some campuses to cut staff and slash spending a month into the start of school, as the district confronts the mounting financial pressure of enrollment losses three years into a state takeover.

On Monday, The Texas Tribune published an investigation revealing the sweeping set of reforms state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles has implemented, known as the New Education System, is straining district finances. HISD has dipped into reserves and had previous cuts to afford the costly reforms as it is losing tens of millions of dollars in state funding because of enrollment losses.

District officials characterized the recent reductions on Tuesday as part of its annual “campus leveling” process, in which schools receive more or less money depending on how closely their enrollment matches projections made in the spring. Employees affected by the reductions may be reassigned to other available positions, HISD officials said in a press release.

But the district’s release also noted that the cuts reflect a “broader financial environment” marked by declining enrollment and limited resources. It did not disclose how many campuses are affected, how much spending will be eliminated or how many positions are at risk.

Houston administrators planned the district’s budgets this year based on forecasts that it would lose 4,000 students, according to May budget documents. That projection is about half the roughly 8,000 students HISD lost the previous year.

Enrollment drops have accelerated every year since the takeover began, according to the Tribune’s analysis. The state funnels money to public schools largely based on attendance, which means every student who leaves translates to less revenue.

“We have worked hard over the last three years to put HISD on stronger financial footing while putting more resources into classrooms and increasing teacher pay,” Miles said in a press release. “But we also have to adjust when enrollment and revenues change. We have to make responsible decisions now so the District remains financially strong and can continue investing in the things that have the greatest impact on student achievement.”

The Tribune obtained communications to parents from several campuses that will be affected. At Lamar High School, principal Rita Gaves explained that the school was facing a $500,000 shortfall, which would impact the choir and debate programs. At T.H. Rogers Middle School, an assistant principal and a librarian will be reassigned to trim spending, principal Suparna Vashisht told parents in a statement.

Brooke Markeloff is a parent of a seventh grader at T.H. Rogers. While enrollment numbers this year are not yet publicly available, she said the magnet school doesn’t typically struggle with that because it has a steady list of families on the waitlist.

Enrollment across the district consistently fell below projections by an average of 1,700 students in each of the first three years of the takeover, according to an analysis by the Texas Tribune. Official enrollment counts are not due to the state until October, but the Houston Chronicle reported the district lost 10,000 students from the year prior, making the gap between projected and actual enrollment about 6,000 students.

In the first three years of the takeover, HISD lost 21,000 students at a rate faster than other urban district peers. Those losses had already cost the district $190 million before the latest round of cuts.

“All of this is unsustainable. …We’re going to eventually hit a wall,” Markeloff said. “It boggles my mind that he’s allowed to spend and make all these changes without anybody checking him. That’s what the board is supposed to do, but we have a board of managers who just rubber stamp everything that he’s doing.”

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath appointed Miles and a board of managers to lead the district in a state takeover, giving them control of the district.

As Texas’ top officials treat Miles’ reforms as the blueprint for improving student academic achievement, tapping former HISD administrators to lead other takeover districts, the cost of the New Education System raises questions about whether districts can afford to follow. An analysis by the Tribune found the reforms cost a campus about $700,000 the first year it was adopted and an extra $2,000 per student in the years after.

One HISD employee who manages finances at a non-NES campus, said the directive was unusual and alarming. In previous years, school leaders are typically given soft guidance about adjusting staffing levels based on latest enrollment around this time, but this year the orders to cut were mandatory. The employee spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation for her job.

Tracy Lisewsky, who has tracked the district’s spending and is a parent of an HISD graduate who got her diploma during the takeover, worried about what the early cuts foreshadow for the district.

“Something must be really, really wrong with our cash flow … and the budget, for cuts to be coming this early into the school year,” Lisewsky said.

Overall, HISD’s annual operating budget is about $2 billion. The district has a workforce of about 22,600 employees last year, including about 10,000 teachers.

Other districts across the state have also shuffled staff because enrollment fell below projections. Fort Worth ISD, for example, leveled at campuses last month after enrollment was about 2,500 students short of what was projected, according to the Fort Worth Report. That district is in the first year of its state takeover.

Rob Reid contributed to this report.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.