At the board of trustees' April 21 workshop meeting, Willis ISD Chief Financial Officer Garrett Matej reviewed the district budget for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 fiscal years.
WISD will be able to fund a one-time employee stipend thanks to a FY 2025-26 budget surplus, and Matej also broke down the estimated $104 million budget for FY 2026-27.
Budget explained
Matej presented a full estimated breakdown of WISD’s budget for the current and future fiscal year. Matej said the projected revenue for FY 2025-26 is $103.1 million, and the total projected expenditures are $100.13 million. The projected surplus is $2.96 million, and as previously reported, $1.8 million of the surplus will be used to fund a $1,500 one-time stipend for district employees.
For FY 2026-27, Matej reported that the district is estimated to see a small increase in the budget compared to last year. The breakdown of FY 2026-27’s $104 million in projected revenue for WISD includes:
- Revenue from local sources: $50.81 million
- Revenue from state programs: $52.67 million
- Revenue from federal programs: $532,000
Per Matej’s presentation, the breakdown of FY 2026-27’s projected $99.01 million in expenditures for WISD includes:
- Salary/benefits: $83.26 million
- Campus/department/operations: $15.75 million
Project fundingMatej said this leaves WISD with an estimated budget capacity of $4.99 million; an estimated $4.08 million of that capacity will be used to help support various district needs, including, but not limited to:
- Castleschouldt Elementary: $1.2 million
- Growth and enrollment positions: $1.01 million
- Transportation hours: $382,799
- Special education: $850,000
- Reclassification of additional positions: $495,496
As previously reported by
Community Impact, Castleschouldt Elementary is one of the district's newest campuses set to open Aug. 12 and was part of the 2022 bond. The $1.2 million will be mostly used to hire new instructional and operational staff for the newly built elementary school, Matej said.
