The conversation that no one is having:

HISD's enrollment is down 13k. This will result in budget cuts next year.

1. PK enrollment saw the biggest drop, but there were drops across all grade levels. Many parents pay for PK tuition and it was was not worth paying for virtual instruction.

2. Charters took a big chunk of students. They were open for face to face instruction before HISD.

3. Will we get some of them back? Yes - PK, but I doubt we get back most of the students that went to charters.

4. What will these cuts look like? Campus level: the PUA formula already takes into account enrollment. Principals will decide which teachers to cut. Some schools had larger enrollment drops and will see more staff let go than others. Most cuts will be made at the campus level.

4. (Continued) District level: They will likely give each department a percentage to cut their budgets by. Departments will decide how to make the cuts. The Game of Thrones will continue as usual.

5. Can we do anything about it? Yes! Get those students back. Door to door visits with enrollment packets and a marketing campaign. Ask the legislature to extend the hold funding harmless until the end of the 21-22 school year.

5. (Continued) close vacancies that have been open for extended periods of time. Claw back department budgets this year to save money for next year.

6. When will the board start having this conversation publicly? That is a great question....