In April, GISD anticipated a $3.72 million budget shortfall for FY 2025-26. Now, the district is projecting an about $40,700 surplus after “working very hard on consolidating and cutting” its budget, Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Hanna said at a May 5 board workshop. Additionally, district officials discussed calling a voter-approval tax rate election.
The update
GISD is projected to receive nearly $170.27 million in revenue while facing $170.22 million in expenditures for FY 2025-26, according to district documents. This is expected to result in a $40,725 budget surplus.
This spring, GISD officials proposed making about $3.73 million in budget reductions amid a projected $3.72 million budget shortfall. A total of 32% of the reductions would be district-wide, with 3% concentrated in athletics and 6% in special education programming, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
The district is expected to reduce its contracted services by $3.4 million next fiscal year, according to district documents. GISD will begin employing its own custodians next school year instead of using contracted services, Hanna said.
Another change to the budget included a $1.4 million increase in property tax collections due to property value growth, Hanna said.
The proposed budget is based on an average daily attendance rate of 93%. The district could gain an additional $450,000 in revenue if its attendance rate increased to 93.5%, Hanna said.
“We feel cautiously optimistic that we can do at least 93.5[%] next year," Superintendent Devin Padavil said.
Also of note
District officials discussed whether to call a voter-approval tax rate election. Districts must hold a VATRE to adopt a tax rate that is higher than its maximum tax rate set by the state.
Amid rising property values, the district’s maintenance and operations tax rate is projected to be compressed by around $0.04 from $0.6969 per $100 valuation to $0.6549 per 100 valuation, Hanna said.
If GISD called a VATRE to raise its tax rate by one to four copper pennies, the district could gain $748,436 to $2.99 million in additional revenue after making recapture payments. This money could be used for teacher and staff salaries, maintaining programs and reducing budget deficits, Hanna said.
The district’s proposed budget does not include a pay raise for staff. Providing a 1% raise would cost the district $1.9 million, Hanna said.
The district would need to decide whether to call a VATRE by Aug. 18 to hold the election in November, she said.
What they’re saying
“There's nothing about right now in the school district that indicates that we're calling for an election next month or the month after that,” Padavil said about calling a VATRE. “However, as we talk about looking three, four years out at our financial landscape, is this something the board of trustees wants to consider?”
While discussing calling a VATRE, district officials said they wanted to inform community members about how the increased revenue would be spent. GISD would need to survey community members on whether they would support the VATRE, Padavil said.
“We need to really reinforce that this problem that we’re in has nothing to do with our own inefficiencies,” trustee Stephanie Blanck said.
Further action from the Texas Legislature, which is set to adjourn June 2, could impact the district’s budget, Hanna said. House Bill 2 by Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, would raise the state’s basic allotment of funding per student by $395. The $7.7 billion proposal was passed by the Texas House and received by the Texas Senate in late April.
“It’s a shame that school districts have to consider going to taxpayers and asking for an election instead of being appropriately funded just to stay financially healthy,” Padavil said.
What’s next
The GISD board will review the FY 2025-26 budget at its next workshop June 2 before voting to approve the budget and compensation plan June 16, according to district information.
