ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Round Rock Independent School District’s superintendent said inflation and budget concerns could lead to as many as 40 or more employees being reassigned to other roles by the end of the spring semester.

Dr. Hafedh Azaiez, RRISD superintendent, said letters began distributing last week to employees that could be affected by these staffing changes. He also said a district-wide email addressing those staffing changes went out Friday afternoon.

Concerned citizens sent copies of the aforementioned letter to KXAN using the ReportIt! tip line.

The letter, dated April 6, 2023, read: “Due to a change in student enrollment and/or proposed budget cuts some campuses will need to reduce its staff. Unfortunately, the reduction will occur in your area; therefore, you have been placed on the surplus list.”

The letter went on to specify that employees can submit transfer and internal job applications to the district through May 26, 2023.

Dr. Azaiez in a one-on-one interview Friday afternoon said no employees are being let go in this case but do have the option to voluntarily leave if they so choose.

In order to fill vacancies without spending more money, he said the district is considering moving staff like librarian assistants to other positions. He stressed that while letters have been distributed, these changes are not yet set in stone.

He said the rising cost of necessities like gas, school supplies, and other goods are making a big impact on the district’s budget as well as stagnated state funding based on student enrollment.

“Everything is going up, it’s more expensive. It doesn’t matter how much taxes we collect. At the end of the day, it’s based on that basic allocation,” Dr. Azaiez said.

Dr. Azaiez pushed lawmakers to secure more funding for Texas schools this session.

He said without better pay for teachers and improvements to the tax recapture system, the district will continue to see hardships with retention and funding.

Round Rock ISD has scheduled two forums for the public to voice their concerns about the district’s budget.

Those Virtual Budget Informational Sessions will take place April 24 and May 1 from 6-7:30 p.m. Click this link to register for those forums.