After voters rejected a 13-cent tax increase, the Frisco ISD school board voted yes to the delayed of opening of four new schools until late 2018 on October 17. The schools are, Memorial High School, Lawler Middle School, Liscano Elementary, and Talley Elementary

“The situation as a whole is unfortunate for the students of the district.” Mrs. Cobb, a counselor, said. “However, we must do what is best to serve the need of our students.”

Had the TRE passes, the district would have received over $30 million dollars, but now the board will have to come up with way to save money.

“As an employee of the district and a mother whose children attend schools in Frisco, I voted for the tax increase,” Reedy librarian, Mrs. Lambert said. “It’s really important for us to support the school district. I think as a tax paying citizen, I would have fully supported paying a little more to make sure that our students and our district continues to thrive and flourish.”

By delaying the opening of the 4 new schools, the district will save up to $15 million in operational costs.

“I think the schools not opening is a band aid fix for our budget problem,” Mrs. Lambert said. “It could be unreasonable for the district to try and cut $30 million out of our budget, and delaying the schools is only going to be a one year, temporary fix. Ultimately we’re going to have to do something else.”

On Tuesday, November 7, the school board will discuss new ways to save money.

“We can handle the delay of the schools, otherwise we wouldn’t do it,” Principal Lecoq said. “We are going to absorb more students next year, and looking at the numbers, we will be fine. We can handle it for a year, but it could get harder after that.”