Ysleta Independent School District is staring down a shrinking student body and a growing budget headache, after losing roughly 1,400 students this school year. Enrollment has dropped to about 32,600, deepening an already serious deficit at a district that has been grappling for years with declining attendance and tight state funding. District leaders say the new numbers will ripple through staffing, benefits and classroom services in the months ahead.
Enrollment Drop Widens Deficit
The district now projects it will end the 2025-26 school year with a $19.5 million deficit after official enrollment tallies confirmed the loss of about 1,400 students, reducing total enrollment to roughly 32,600, according to El Paso Matters. That shortfall, El Paso Matters reported, tacked roughly $4 million onto the district’s already projected budget gap once state funding formulas were recalculated. Trustees have warned that the steady decline is a structural problem, not something that can be solved with one-year fixes.
Board Tackles Budget, Loan And Buyouts
Back in June, the board signed off on a $420.2 million budget that already carried a $22.2 million deficit and approved a $49 million loan to cover payroll while the district waits for state payments, according to KVIA. Trustees also adopted a compensation plan that included employee raises funded under new state rules, while trimming other operating expenses to keep the lights on.
To squeeze out savings, the district has been holding some vacancies open, restricting travel, renegotiating contracts and offering early-resignation incentives. Budget documents, board materials and other financial updates are posted on the district website at Ysleta ISD, where residents can track how the numbers are shifting.
Teachers And Hourly Workers Feel The Squeeze
On the ground, some hourly employees say the belt-tightening is hitting them directly. Reduced district contributions to health care have raised their insurance premiums and cut take-home pay by about $50 to $200 per month, a strain described by workers and documented by El Paso Matters. For staff living paycheck to paycheck, even that range can feel like a big chunk of the household budget disappearing overnight.
Local and state data tie the district’s enrollment slide in part to falling birth rates and slower population growth in El Paso. That broader context shows up in district counts and in reporting compiled by the Texas Tribune. Community advocates caution that if the downward trend and budget cuts continue, programs that families rely on could erode over time…