Eanes ISD’s Slow-Motion Train Wreck: Home Values, Education, and a Board Out of Its Depth

Back in April 2024, I penned "Has Eanes Peaked? sounding the alarm on our shrinking in-district student population and the revenue collapse that would follow. I warned it could slash our ability to raise up to $1 billion in bonds over the next decade to fix our aging schools. Well, surprise—surprise!—the numbers are rolling in, and they’re eerily close to my predictions. By January 2025, Eanes’ own population forecasts nearly matched mine, and now we’re facing a $6.5-$7.5 million deficit for next year (even after all the cuts already made), ballooning to $11 million-plus by 2026-27. Valley View Elementary’s shuttered, Spanish Immersion’s gone “adios,” and our financial stability’s a bad joke. As a parent and taxpayer, I’d smirk and say “told you so,” but this isn’t funny—it’s a wake-up call.

This isn’t just about dollars. Eanes ISD’s shine—our golden ticket for Westlake home values—is tarnishing. Families flocked here for top-tier schools, building generational wealth as home equity soared. Now? Median listing prices hit $3 million in January 2025, down 4.8% from last year, with a 21.7% drop in December 2024 home sales. Coincidence? Hardly. A crumbling district drags down property values, which tightens school funding, which dims educational quality, which tanks home prices again. Welcome to the death spiral, courtesy of a Board that’s apparently been asleep at the switch.

The Culprits: A Board Lacking Business Savvy

For years, our Board of Trustees—led by Heather Sheffield, who’s up for re-election this year—has been “steering” this ship. Their resumes read more like a book club roster than a business task force: heavy on passion, light on profit-and-loss experience. Their 7-0 voting record since 2020 is a monument to groupthink, nodding through every idea—good, bad, or just plain wasteful—while enrollment predictably shrank from 8,174 in 2020 to 7,598 in 2025 - a 9.2% decrease. Heather’s been front and center, grandstanding at board meetings about the state’s recapture system bleeding us dry (it took $94.7 million in 2025, half our property taxes). Fair point, but not news—it’s been a fact of life forever.

Yet when COVID cash flooded in, this crew didn’t save a dime. They spent it all and then some, treating federal and state handouts like a permanent windfall. When the tap shut off, did they tighten the belt? Nope. Spending soared—total expenditures from $123.8 million in 2014 to $190.5 million in 2025, with operating costs up from $67.8 million to $94.8 million even after recapture. Test scores didn’t budge, kids lagged, and now we’re closing schools to plug the gap. That’s not leadership—that’s a board playing catch-up with no playbook.

Show Me the Money (They Can’t)

The financials are a mess. Property taxes peaked at $196.8 million in 2023, then slid to $164.2 million by 2025 as valuations softened. Enrollment’s down 9.2%, but spending? Oh, it’s thriving. Social work and mental health costs rocketed from $130,000 in 2021 to $745,000 in 2025—because apparently, we’re now a therapy hub. Security hit $1.6 million in 2024 and extracurriculars doubled to $4 million. Instruction costs per student rose from $5,037 to $6,989, which is fine—until you realize the extras are eating our lunch. Our fund balance? Down from $37.2 million in 2014 to $26.1 million in 2025 - projected to go negative within another 18 months. That’s not a rainy day fund—that’s a bankruptcy warning.

Heather’s crew blames “unforeseen” woes: inflation, low birth rates, unfunded mandates. Puh-lease! Inflation didn’t quintuple social work budgets—salaries aren’t up 20%. Low birth rates? I flagged that in 2024; they ignored it while pushing open enrollment in 2021 to chase transfers (which dried up anyway). Unfunded mandates? The state’s been stingy since forever— Sheffield routinely complains that [Texas legislators] “..haven’t given us a raise since 2019.” Predictable stuff, folks, and this Board’s answer was to spend like it’s 1999, not plan like it’s 2025.  In denial for their own missteps, they’ll start to blame Dr. Arnett or the Long Range Planning committee soon enough.  Any level of deflection is possible to get Heather Sheffield re-elected.

Quality’s Crashing Too

It’s not just money. COVID overspending didn’t boost test scores—our kids are still behind. Valley View’s closure was years late—mark my words, another elementary’s next, and the Board won’t say it out loud. I just did.  Spanish Immersion is axed, and Eanes’ rep as an education destination is fading. That hits home values, which hits funding, and round we go. This isn’t bad luck—it’s bad management from our board of trustees.  

My Call, My Plan, Their Failure

In April 2024, I said our shrinking base would choke bond capacity—up to $1 billion over 10 years to refurbish schools. The Board scoffed and rolled their eyes; now we’re here. In Audentes Fortuna Iuvat" I pitched a 10-year vision: embrace being a smaller, 5A district—still winning football titles, but financially bulletproof. Cut the fluff—$745,000 on social work? $4 million on extracurriculars?—and pour a big portion of it back into classrooms. Lean on the Eanes Education Foundation (EEF) to boost teacher pay smartly, not just paper over deficits. It’s bold, it’s doable, but it (or some version of my plan) needs leaders who get it.

3 Elections, 7 Corrections - Time for a Clean Sweep

Heather Sheffield has had her run—years of mismanagement, deflecting blame to the state while driving Eanes deeper into financial turmoil. She lacks the business acumen needed to navigate this crisis, and the rest of the Board mirrors her failures. How can we trust them to fix the mess they created? Rubber-stamp 7-0 votes won’t cut it anymore.

Catherine Walker is stepping up to challenge Sheffield, bringing fresh perspective and real-world problem-solving skills. She’s not the entire solution, but she’s the first step toward real change. Kelly Marwill, meanwhile, has proven she doesn’t belong anywhere near a position of leadership after her deceitful and morally bankrupt campaign tactics. She needs to go, period.

With three more seats—Kim McMath, Laura Clark, and Diane Hern—up for grabs next year, we have a real chance to course-correct. Eanes needs business-minded leaders who can clean up this mess, protect our schools, and safeguard home values.

This district isn’t beyond saving—but it’s at a breaking point. Stick with this Board, and the $7 million deficit balloons, gutting our schools and tanking property values. Flip these seats, and we can restore financial responsibility and accountability.

The choice is clear: Start the turnaround now. Replace Sheffield with Walker. Hold Marwill accountable. Then, complete the job next year by electing leaders who can fix what’s broken. Eanes deserves better.