Clear Creek ISD families face a school year funded partly by savings: trustees will vote Monday, Aug. 24, on a $432 million budget that draws down the district's $39 million capital contingency fund to cover a $22.8 million projected shortfall.
The meeting doubles as a public hearing, giving residents a final chance to weigh in before the financial picture is set. It starts at 5 p.m. in the CCISD boardroom at 2425 E. Main St., League City.
Why the gap keeps growing
The shortfall has ballooned since May, when Chief Financial Officer Alice Benzaia presented a preliminary $19.7 million deficit to the board. By the Aug. 17 meeting, that figure had climbed to $22.8 million, driven by continued declines in state and local funding as enrollment shrinks, according to Community Impact.
Enrollment has dropped more than 6% since the 2019-20 school year. The district has already cut 70 positions for 2026-27 to match the decline. State funding tied to homestead tax limitations for elderly and disabled residents fell from $7.8 million in 2023-24 to $2.7 million in 2025-26, squeezing revenue further.
Tax rate stays flat, for now
The proposed tax rate of $0.969 per $100 of home valuation is unchanged from the current year. Trustees will hold the public hearing on the rate Monday but won't formally adopt it until Sept. 28.
Board President Jonathan Cottrell has pushed the district to find new revenue. At a May budget priorities meeting, he won board approval for an amendment adding the sale of surplus properties as a priority. He also flagged unfunded state mandates, including a $5.3 million requirement under Senate Bill 546 to retrofit school buses with three-point seat belts by Sept. 1, 2029.
"[The state legislature] is telling us we have to do these things, but [they're] not giving us money to do so. That money has to come from somewhere," Cottrell said at the May meeting, as reported by Community Impact.
What's at stake
The stakes are high. If approved, the contingency fund draw-down would cut the $39 million reserve by more than half in a single year. The district is also evaluating a potential voter-approval tax rate election for nine enrichment pennies that could generate about $20 million in additional annual revenue, according to May budget documents.
Last year, trustees adopted a $12.5 million shortfall for FY 2025-26; the district expects to finish that year with a deficit closer to $8.2 million.
The seven-member board includes Cottrell, Vice President Jessica Cejka, Secretary Jamieson Mackay and trustees Jay Cunningham, Arturo Sanchez, Jeffrey Larson and Rebecca Lilley. Superintendent Karen Engle leads the district's administration.
Residents who want to speak at the public hearing can attend the 5 p.m. meeting Monday, Aug. 24, at 2425 E. Main St., League City.
