During the February Board Meeting, RISD Trustees reviewed information about student performance on the latest MAP assessment, factors impacting RISD enrollment trends, a budget update and the plan to make-up academic time lost due to school closure during the January winter storm.
See the highlights and presentations for these topics:
Enrollment Update: Enrollment has declined by 723 students compared to last year, with the largest decreases in grades 2–7. Third and 9th grades are the largest cohorts this year, creating key transition opportunities. High school enrollment remains steady. As RISD moves forward, we will continue to focus on strategic enrollment efforts and community engagement across Richardson and our surrounding areas zoned to RISD. As a reminder, enrollment for 2026-27 for returning and new to RISD families opens Tuesday, February 24. Parents can complete their online enrollment at www.risd.org/enrollonline/.
MAP Assessment Results: We celebrate our students’ continued academic growth. All student groups, in grades K–8 students showed growth in reading and math, and exceeded national MAP growth norms by more than 50 percent. This is a strong reflection of classroom instruction and leadership and is a strong step toward our North Star Goal. Way to go students and staff!
2026–2027 Budget: Due to declining enrollment and rising costs, RISD is addressing a structural budget gap. Through Project RightSize, RISD has begun aligning staffing with enrollment trends. Staff have been reassigned to meet campus needs, with no layoffs occurring. Future adjustments will happen through attrition as positions become vacant. Benchmark data shows RISD directs a higher percentage of its budget to campuses than peer districts and maintains lower central office spending — reinforcing our commitment to classroom investment. Budget adoption is scheduled for June 2026.
Be sure to visit our new Finance Fundamentals website. This resource helps our community better understand school finance, including where RISD’s funding comes from, how it’s spent, and how it supports our North Star Goal of ensuring every student, teacher, and leader meets or exceeds their academic growth goals. The site will be updated monthly with key information and FAQs.
Weather Make-Up Plan: Built-in instructional minutes will cover the recent January 26–27 school closure due to the winter storm, keeping April 3 and 6 as holidays. A waiver request has been submitted to the Texas Education Agency for January 28–29. Learn more about the make-up plan here.
For more information about this month’s board meeting, including district recognitions, please watch the February Board video recap presented by Trustee Vanessa Pacheco.
Board Recognitions:
- 2026 America’s Best Schools Honor Roll
- O. Henry Elementary
- Richardson Terrace Elementary
- Educational Results Partnership – 2025 Texas Honor Roll
- Arapaho Classical Magnet – Scholar
- Brentfield Elementary – Scholar
- MST Magnet – Star
- Prairie Creek Elementary – Scholar
- Advanced Placement (AP) School Honor Roll for 2025
- Lake Highlands High School – Silver
- Pearce High School – Silver
- Richardson High School – Silver
- National Board Certified Teachers
- Catherine Chesser – Liberty Junior High
- Eric Funke – Berkner High School
- Taylor Gargol – MST Magnet
- Brandi Jackson – Arapaho Classical Magnet
- Paula Rilling – Berkner High School
- TABSE Teacher of the Year
- Brandi Jackson – Arapaho Classical Magnet
- RISD Campus Teachers of the Year
- National Merit Finalists
- Richardson High School
- Shani Nguyen
- Logan Zutaver
- Pearce High School
- Jonas Dalton
- Colby Wilks
- Alan Trinh
- Richardson High School
- Be the ONE Award
- Mike Banta – Staff – Lake Highlands Middle School
- William Bailey – Student – Richardson North Junior High
- Carson Bullard – Student – Prestonwood Elementary
