What you need to know
In the 89th Texas Legislature, lawmakers passed House Bill 2, which included $8.5 billion in additional school funding.
HISD Chief Financial Officer Caleb Steed presented a budget amendment to the board of trustees Oct. 23 showing that although the district is receiving an increased amount of school funding, an anticipated increase to the homestead exemption and other factors leave the school district in much the same financial position as before.
The details
Steed said the district is now projected to receive about $8.8 million more in state funding, but have local property taxes reduced by about $3.4 million if Texas voters approve a Nov. 4 ballot measure that would increase the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. The additional revenues also come with some programmatic costs, Steed said, that leave the district with a maintained $3.5 million shortfall.
What else?
HISD also received an 'A' financial rating for the 2024-25 financial year, the same rating it received for the previous year.
What's next?
The board also approved a one-time retention incentive payment for staff.
Full-time employees hired on or before the start of the 2025-26 school year will receive $500, while employees hired between the start of the 2025-26 school year and Oct. 23 will receive $250. Part-time employees will receive half of these amounts, based on when they began working for the district.
Steed said the amended budget does account for the incentive, which costs the district $901,000 from the general fund. Payments will be sent to staff in December, and are taxable. If an employee chooses to separate from the district early, the amount of the incentive will be deducted from their final paycheck.
