Subjects such as public school funding and the student assessment model remain top priorities for lawmakers, educators and advocates. Because schools receive funding based on attendance, some administrators said their districts lost funding during the 2021-22 school year.
The state finances schools through the basic allotment, which is the amount of money schools receive per student. Funding is based on average daily attendance, or the number of students at school on average.
Average daily attendance is the sum of students present throughout the school year divided by the number of days schools must be open, per the Texas Education Agency.
Schools then earn $6,160 per student who meets the average daily attendance threshold. But when a student is frequently absent, their school loses money, even if the school’s day-to-day operations do not change.
Local district assesses shortfall
Clear Creek ISD’s estimates predict a $15 million shortfall for the fiscal year 2023-24 budget based on Texas finance laws, CCISD Chief Financial Officer Alice Benzaia said.
“We are concerned about the basic allotment that we receive per student, which hasn’t had an adjustment since 2019,” CCISD Superintendent Karen Engle said. “We would like for this legislative session to consider how inflation impacts that.”
The district expects that 40,540 students will be enrolled in 2023-24 versus 40,781 students for 2022-23, which is a decline of 241. The district will earn $1.48 million less in 2023-24 than 2022-23 at the current rate that districts earn per student.
House Bill 31, filed by Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, would require schools to be funded based on the average number of students enrolled during the academic year. This would protect districts from losing money when students miss school. An identical bill, Senate Bill 263, was filed by Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas.
Two bills in favor of enrollment-based funding—HB 1246 and SB 728—were filed during the 2021 legislative session. Even with bipartisan support, neither bill received a hearing or reached the chamber floors.
For this session, Johnson also filed SB 88, which would increase the state’s per-pupil basic allotment to $7,075.
Prioritizing safety
The Galveston County Schools Consortium and CCISD held a joint meeting Dec. 14 to discuss legislative priorities with local legislators.
Priorities discussed by local school districts other than school funding included safety, teacher retention and increased local control, Engle said.
Safety at schools in CCISD will continually evolve in the coming year, CCISD board President Jay Cunningham said. Changes could include stadium call boxes since some school areas are utilized after hours.
Texas began to conduct random intruder safety audits of schools in September, which Cunningham said has already happened in CCISD.
