Celina ISD officials are working toward the budget for the 2025-26 school year.

District officials and the board of trustees met June 16 to discuss revenue projections and preliminary staff compensation plans during a budget workshop.

The overview

Projections for the FY 2025-26 school year budget are:
  • $68.72 million in revenue
  • $2.19 million in recapture payment
The district’s recapture payment has steadily risen as Celina ISD is a property-wealthy district, said Melissa Kelly, CISD chief of business resources. Recapture allows the Texas Legislature to take excess local property tax dollars from school districts and use it to help balance the state budget, according to www.recapturetexas.org.

CISD’s recapture payment is expected to be $2.19 million based on current enrollment projections and estimated property values, according to the presentation.


District officials projected the FY 2024-25 payment to be $605,901 based on an enrollment of 5,650 and a per-pupil-allocation of $8,351 when approving the school year’s budget. The recapture payment is now expected to be $1.53 million based on an enrollment of 5,434 and an allotment of $8,306 per student, according to the presentation.

Another factor for the FY 2025-26 school year budget is the district’s fund balance, which acts similarly to a saving’s account for the district.

The district needs to add $1.2 million to its fund balance to be in compliance with financial quality measures by the Texas Education Agency. A district’s fund balance should hold enough money for a district to operate for 75 days, according to the Texas Association of School Administrators.

A closer look


CISD’s enrollment may reach 6,245 students in the 2025-26 school year, according to moderate projection scenarios.

Funding for a district is based on average daily attendance, rather than base enrollment numbers. District officials are building the FY 2025-26 budget based on an average attendance of 5,934 students.
District officials anticipate the district’s tax rate for FY 2025-26 to be $1.1879 per $100 valuation. This would be split between $0.739 for maintenance and operations, which covers daily expenses and payroll, and $0.4489 to go toward debt payments.
Additional factors for the budget include the cost of utilities increasing by an average of 25%. District officials are also taking into account a potential 2% staff raise which would cost $1.04 million. Hiring additional staff will also be necessary to fill teaching and learning, athletics and human resources positions as well as maintenance staff, said Superintendent Thomas Maglisceau.

Additional staff will also need to be hired for enrollment growth, he said.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 2 into law June 4. HB 2 will provide permanent raises for educators and support staff; overhaul how the state funds special education; and set aside money for schools to spend on fixed costs, such as utilities and insurance. The bill also includes funding increases for early learning initiatives, school safety, student career training and educator preparation.


CISD teachers with 3-4 years of service would receive an increase of $2,500 while teachers with five or more years would receive $5,000, according to the presentation. District officials are waiting for direction from the Texas Education Agency on how the bill will be implemented to determine raises for all staff members, Kelly said.

Looking ahead

District officials anticipate approving the FY 2025-26 budget June 23 during the board’s regular meeting.