Every Day, Every Dollar:
The Impact of Attendance
Good Attendance Makes Good Sense
In Texas, school funding is based on student attendance—when students miss class, not only do they lose the benefit of direct instruction, GISD loses funds. Every minute missed adds up, making attendance a key part of our financial picture and student success.
GISD’s 2025-26 budget is based on an attendance rate of 94%
With a 94% attendance rate, more than 130 GISD students are absent each day adding up to $4,387 in lost state funding daily. Those are dollars that GISD will not receive to support students, staff and programs.
Enrollment also impacts funding – if fewer students are enrolled in GISD, this means less will be in attendance. School districts use both enrollment projections and average daily attendance to determine their budget. However, state funding is determined based on who shows up each day to school. GISD’s 2025-26 budget is based on an attendance rate of 94%