With a 3% raise approved for staff, expenditures for the district are estimated to be $267.35 million with revenue at $245.44 million, according to a May 13 presentation from Dennis Womack, MISD’s assistant superintendent of business, operations and technology. The compensation increase was approved by the district’s board of trustees May 13.
The board previously discussed the budget planning process in March.
The gist
Here is a breakdown of the draft budget:
- $245.44 million in revenue
- $267.35 million in expenditures
- $21.91 million in revenue shortfall
Funding for a school district is based on average daily attendance.
Prior to 2020, the district’s attendance rate was closer to 96%, according to the presentation. The attendance rate in the 2023-24 school year was 94%.
“We need parents to send their kids to school,” Womack said.
The basic allotment for schools is $6,160 per student, which has not changed since 2019.
Record inflation is one factor in the district’s budget building process. The cost of utilities has increased 23% while transportation costs per student has increased 18.5% since 2020, Womack said.
MISD is also facing growing competition for staffing with neighboring districts. The district has to consider raising salaries to align with inflationary increases in the district and surrounding areas, he said.
“We continue to try and recruit and retain the best and the brightest,” Womack said.
Diving in deeper
The district will explore revenue-generating opportunities in the next year to mitigate the size of the shortfall. This includes:
- Increasing attendance rates back to 96%
- Utilizing grant and scholarship opportunities
- Exploring extracurricular or transportation fees
- Reducing central office staff through attrition
- Reducing operating budgets
- Considering campus consolidations or boundary realignments
- Increasing student to teacher ratios
Looking ahead
District officials remain optimistic the Texas Legislature will provide additional funding to schools in the upcoming legislative session, which begins in January, Womack said.
The district will continue to work through financial challenges and develop long-term, sustainable contingencies for the budget. Any budget cuts will be focused as far away from the classroom as possible, Womack said.
“We don’t want to interrupt or take away or erode the quality of the education experience that we provide for our kids,” he said.
