UPDATE: The Frisco (Texas) school board has voted unanimously to follow administrative recommendations and delay the openings of Memorial High School, Lawler Middle School and Talley and Liscano Elementary Schools.
The Dallas Morning News reports that by delaying the opening of the four campuses by one year until 2018-19, the Frisco district will save an estimated $15.6 million in maintenance and operations costs for the district.
EARLIER: The fast-growing Frisco (Texas) school district may have to delay the opening of four new campuses next year to close a budget deficit left unresolved when voters rejected a property tax increase.
WFAA-TV reports that Frisco Superintendent Jeremy Lyon made the recommendation Thursday at a school board work session.
The new schools, now under construction, that would be affected: Memorial High School, Lawler Middle School, and Talley and Liscano elementary schools.
Putting off the opening would save the district up to $18 million. Frisco expecting 2,500 new students to enroll next year, but believes it can stay under capacity without opening the new schools, Lyon says. The board is expected to vote on Monday on whether to delay the openings.
The district has grown from a tiny system to one of the 100 largest in the nation. It had 1,237 students in 1989-90, and now has close to 56,000 students. But enrollment this year has fallen below projections, Frisco officials say. The district expected to have 56,904 students by the end of October, but officials the current enrollment is a little less than 56,000 students.
Video from WFAA-TV:
