The FISD board of trustees held a public hearing to discuss its fiscal year 2023-24 budget on June 12 as part of its regular board meeting. As part of the hearing, board members shared their concerns about the lack of legislative funding they would normally receive at this point, forcing the district to consider a high shortfall.
“We're in a precarious position right now,” Board Member Rene Archambault said. “I wish we had all the answers, but that may not come for a good amount of time.”
In case you missed it
When board members met for a budget workshop on May 30, Kimberly Smith, the district’s chief financial and strategy officer, presented a breakdown of the district’s proposed $943.3 million total budget.
The district will be considering a $24.4 million shortfall as FISD is projecting approximately $714 million in revenue but $738 million in expenses for the year.
Some new expenses for the district include higher manufacturing costs, opening new schools, adding new positions, and paying for new raises and paid wellness days for faculty and staff.
- Inflation in Texas is estimated at more than 18%, higher than the 17% the district had been previously using for its estimates, Smith said.
- In the new budget, all teachers will receive a $1,200 raise as well as two wellness days added to their 10 annual days off.
- All district staff will also receive a raise based on their daily hours with at least $600 for employees working more than four hours per day and at least $300 for employees working less than four hours per day.
- More staff will be added for the special education departments, dyslexia programs, bilingual programs and prekindergarten programs.
- Two new schools, Wortham Intermediate School and Wilkinson Middle School are set to open in August for the new school year.
“We've had to budget accordingly,” Smith said.
Zooming out
This is not the first time FISD has been faced with a budget shortfall. The district adopted an approximately $22 million projected shortfall for FY 2022-23, Smith said.
“I'm concerned about adopting a second deficit budget,” Board Member Stephanie Elad said. “Last year, it was our first time, and we hoped that we wouldn't be in this place again.”
Nearly every department in the district has been asked to cut costs wherever possible without hurting daily operations, Smith said. The money saved so far, such as by eliminating $1.2 million from vacant positions, has been helpful, Smith said.
Budget explained
There are only three ways a school district can increase revenue, Smith said.
- Adding more students
- The district receives funding for the average daily attendance per student. If more students are added, the daily attendance rate increases.
- Raising the tax rate
- The board is expected to hold a public hearing and make a decision on the district’s tax rate sometime in August.
- Receiving more money from the Legislature
The options come with their own complications, such as adding more students would also lead to higher operating costs in the district, Smith said.
The Texas Legislature had not made a decision on some bills that would provide more funding to public schools during its normal session, forcing lawmakers to continue discussions in special sessions.
“[FISD board members and staff] talked a lot in the workshop about how we didn't want to reduce costs in a way that would significantly impact operations before we knew what the legislature was going to do,” Smith said. “The same goes for a potential special session.”
What to expect
The district is required to vote on the budget on June 20.
“As a school board, we are required to adopt some type of budget so that our 9,000 staff members can be paid in July,” Archambault said.
However, the board is free to update and amend the budget at any time after it is adopted, Archambault said.
More information on the June 20 meeting and other FISD board meetings can be found on its public calendar.
