Bryan ISD trustees approved a balanced $186.5 million operating budget for the 2026-27 school year during their June 15 meeting, despite ongoing challenges tied to declining enrollment, stagnant state funding and rising costs.
What readers should know
The district’s maintenance and operations, or M&O, budget projects $186.5 million in revenue and expenditures, allowing Bryan ISD to avoid a deficit while maintaining an estimated ending fund balance of $43 million with roughly 2.7 months of operating expenses.
Trustee Julie Harlin-Wolf clarified that the board was seeking to adopt a zero-balance budget, meaning expenditures would not exceed revenue.
The district approved a $2.2 million employee compensation package at its June 1 meeting, which included a one-time $500 stipend for all full-time employees.
Breaking it down
Chief Financial Officer Norma Friddle said the budget assumes a 1.75% decline in property values and is based on an average daily attendance of 14,189 students. The proposal also included a portion of one-time revenue from the anticipated sale of district property.
Payroll remains the district’s largest expense, accounting for more than 86% of the operating budget.
Community Impact sat down with Friddle in May to understand how the budget works, how the 2025-26 school year would end and what options were left as the school year rounded out.
What the board is saying
Board members praised Friddle for developing a balanced budget but acknowledged the district continues to face long-term financial pressures.
Trustee David Stasny said balancing the budget this year should not be viewed as a sign that additional revenue will not be needed in the future.
“We’re using the sale of property as putting the finger in the dike,” Stasny said. “It’s gonna get us through the upcoming year, but it’s not looking down beyond that.”
What else?
Trustees also approved the district’s debt service and child nutrition budgets. Bryan ISD will maintain a proposed total tax rate of $0.9469 per $100 valuation, though the final rate will be adopted in August after the district receives updated figures from the state.
There is still a possibility for Bryan ISD to place a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, on ballots this November. The district has until mid-August to decide.
