![\"Former](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/4GH47LNWL5HPNHH4HVTFUWV63I.jpg?auth=dba801f23ed2ff7ab5ce747ceaf39571e7b850c59b022b0dd4a2d03cc1d95dcd&quality=80&height=127&width=190&smart=true\")
<\/p>\nMesquite ISD will slash at least $24 million from its budget for the 2026-27 school year, which includes eliminating hundreds of positions, Superintendent \u00c1ngel Rivera said Tuesday at a district staff meeting.<\/p>\n
Like other school districts across North Texas, Mesquite is grappling with declining enrollment and tightening budgets. In Mesquite ISD, the enrollment dropped from about 40,900 students in 2017 to about 36,700 students this school year, according to its website.<\/p>\n
While enrollment has decreased, staffing has increased. In 2017, the district had about 5,200 staff members, which jumped to about 5,800 this school year.<\/p>\n
Mesquite ISD has to \u201cadjust our sails to the winds in our current landscape,\u201d Rivera said, addressing staff members at West Mesquite High School. He was tasked with bringing a balanced budget to the school board for the next school year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know this information tonight \u2026 might elevate your level of anxiety, you may have questions, you have concerns,\u201d he said. \u201cIt could be worse if we do nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mesquite ISD sets aside about 85% of its operating budget for salaries. To save more than $16 million, Rivera said, the district will eliminate 103 teaching positions, 67 secondary teaching roles, eight music teaching jobs, six art teaching positions and 33 physical education aides.<\/p>\n
Among other eliminated positions are 74 part-time lunchtime monitors, 42 bilingual aides, 34 kindergarten aides and more than 14 campus clerical staff. ESL teachers will be reduced by 15 positions.<\/p>\n
All term-contract teachers will have jobs next school year. Employees impacted by cuts will be notified by Feb. 13, Rivera added.<\/p>\n
He encouraged affected employees to apply for other open roles in the district. The district offers a $250 incentive if employees notify them early of retirement.<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
Facing budgetary restraints, other districts have opted to close schools. Last week, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD trustees made the emotional decision to shutter two elementary schools. Meanwhile, Grand Prairie ISD and Southlake Carroll ISD school board members are pondering consolidation and weighing their options \u2014 with final votes by the boards expected next year.<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
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Public school advocates say state funding is not enough. Earlier this year, the Texas Legislature boosted the base allotment per student by $55. Experts say that increase would need to exceed $1,300 to catch up with inflation.<\/p>\n
\u201cMesquite ISD has encountered a lot of issues over the years, a lot of obstacles. We\u2019ve overcome every single obstacle together,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cAnd this is no different.\u201d<\/p>\n
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.<\/p>\n
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab\u2019s journalism.<\/p>\n
The budget cuts in Mesquite ISD are a result of declining enrollment and tightening budgets. The district is taking measures to adjust to the new landscape, including eliminating hundreds of positions and offering incentives for early retirement. While the situation is challenging, the district is committed to overcoming the obstacles and providing quality education to its students.<\/p>\n
A: Mesquite ISD will slash at least $24 million from its budget for the 2026-27 school year.<\/p>\n
A: The district will eliminate 103 teaching positions, 67 secondary teaching roles, eight music teaching jobs, six art teaching positions, and 33 physical education aides, among others.<\/p>\n
A: Yes, all term-contract teachers will have jobs next school year.<\/p>\n
A: The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative that deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mesquite ISD Budget Cuts Introduction to the Budget Crisis Mesquite ISD will slash at least $24 million from its budget for the 2026-27 school year, which includes eliminating hundreds of positions, Superintendent \u00c1ngel Rivera said Tuesday at a district staff meeting. Like other school districts across North Texas, Mesquite is grappling with declining enrollment and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":18881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18879","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/BZRTECBJYZGCJETTUNRT7JRQJQ.jpg?auth=9a0547dfc2a7f3db517994796c20479e5fbe5c5ca5c650754077fec3046f9b61&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&smart=true","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18879"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18882,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18879\/revisions\/18882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}