District spending
This page is about the district's spending choices in general, not about any one proposition. It uses only the district's own efficiency audit and its own tax filings.
Where these figures come from
Every figure on this page comes from the district's 2026 Efficiency Audit, or from the district's 2026 statutory tax filings. The audit was done by Eide Bailly LLP. Its cover is dated June 30, 2026 and the auditors' report is dated September 1, 2026. It reports 2024-25 data.
"Peers" means the 10 peer districts the audit uses: Allen, College Station, Brazosport, Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Coppell, Grapevine-Colleyville, Forney, Duncanville, Wylie and Rockwall. The audit says the district selected them from a list of 70 districts of similar size, refined by property wealth, tax rate and geography. Each comparison below names its year.
What the district gets right
These are the district's own audited figures, and they are good news for the district.
- Low general administration cost. In 2024-25 the district spent $249 per student on general administration. The peer average was $361 and the state average was $424.
- Accountability rating of B, with a score of 88 for 2024-25, against a peer average score of 85.
- A Superior (A) financial rating from the state's FIRST system for 2024-25, the fifth year in a row.
- Lower teacher turnover: 16.1% in 2024-25, against 18.8% for both the peers and the state.
- More spent on instruction: $7,242 per student in 2024-25, against a peer average of $6,690 and a state average of $7,064.
- A high share of teaching staff: teachers were 58.4% of total staff in 2024-25, against a peer average of 49.3% and a state average of 48.3%.
- A superintendent salary below peers: $305,000 in 2024-25, against a ten-peer average of $318,557.
- Higher average teacher pay: $67,465 in 2024-25, against a peer average of $64,676 and a state average of $63,749.
This page does not dispute any of that. It asks a few narrower questions that the district's own audit raises.
More staff in administrative roles than peer districts
The audit compares staffing as a share of each district's total staff. For 2024-25:
| Staff group | McKinney | Peer average | State average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative staff | 5.6% | 4.3% | 4.6% |
| Paraprofessional staff | 14.4% | 11.3% | 10.7% |
The audit also reports school leadership spending of $749 per student in 2024-25, against a peer average of $654 and a state average of $752.
These are shares of total staff. The same table shows McKinney with a smaller share of auxiliary staff (11.7%) than its peers (23.0%).
The district's own comment, printed in the audit next to its staffing figures, says:
"Enrollment declined modestly during the four years preceding 2024-25, resulting in lower facility utilization at some campuses. During this period, the District maintained essential campus leadership, instructional support personnel, and specialized services to continue meeting student needs, preserve program quality, and support safe and effective school operations. As a result, administrative and paraprofessional staff represented a larger percentage of the overall workforce than in some peer districts."
The same comment says the district "maintains higher levels of administrative and paraprofessional staffing" to support campus operations and specialized programs, and links that to its special education population. The audit reports special education students at 17.7% of enrollment, against a peer average of 15.6%.
Opinion: The district agrees that administrative and paraprofessional staff are a larger share of its workforce than in some peer districts, and explains why. This site sees that as a choice the board made. The board is now asking voters to fund the budget that choice produces.
Reserves
The audit says the district's unassigned general fund balance was $93.1 million at the end of 2024-25, compared with three-month operating expenditures of $86.0 million. That is 108.3% of the three-month reserve, against a peer average of 92.6%. Per student, it is $4,026 against a peer average of $3,454. The audit states: "The District's fund balance exceeds that of its peer districts."
| School year | McKinney | Peer average |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 108.3% | 92.6% |
| 2023-24 | 126.2% | 99.5% |
| 2022-23 | 145.8% | 109.4% |
| 2021-22 | 147.4% | 115.8% |
| 2020-21 | 170.7% | 113.9% |
McKinney was above 100%, the three-month reserve, in each of the five years shown. The percentage has come down each year.
The district's comment in the audit explains the balance this way: "The District’s fund balance surpasses that of its peer districts due to a comprehensive, conservative budget plan that addresses current needs while preparing for projected growth and the opening of additional schools."
Separately, the district's Notice of Public Meeting, dated for the August 10, 2026 board meeting, gives estimated balances that will remain at the end of the current fiscal year: $70,172,628 in the maintenance and operations fund and $44,114,041 in the interest and sinking fund. These come from a different filing and a different year, so they are not added to the audit's figure.
A 2021 tax ratification election
The audit says the district held a tax ratification election that passed in 2021, "however, it was not implemented due to additional funds from ESSER that became available to the District."
Sources for this page: the district's 2026 efficiency audit, its notice of public meeting, its Prop A page, and its printed mailer.
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