If the bill goes on to pass in the Senate, Cy-Fair ISD would receive $12.5 million more for the 2017-18 fiscal year, amounting to $89 more per student for the district’s average weighted daily attendance.
We spoke with Stuart Snow, associate superintendent of business and financial services, to learn more about CFISD’s perspective.
After passing in the House, what are your predictions for HB 21’s fate?
I think it’s going to have a hard time getting through the Senate unless there’s a component of school choice or something included in there. Without something else in there that they want, I don’t think it’s going to pass.
Even though it’s going to be a challenge for it to get through the Senate, I [appreciate] any attempt to improve school finance because it is so outdated. But any attempt to do that is going to take two or three legislative sessions. HB 21 is a good start, even though it probably doesn’t do everything we need it to do. It’s a good start. If it does pass, it gives the legislature an opportunity in the next session and the one after that to make some significant changes.
Why has the Senate pushed back on public education funding?
I think there’s just a difference in philosophy as far as what their priorities are for this session. The House has made public education a top priority, and the Senate hasn’t. Their top priorities are tax relief, the bathroom bill issue, sanctuary cities. It just does not include any funding increases for school finance and public education.
School choice is among their top priorities as well, [with] ideas of charters and private schools and vouchers.
If HB 21 were to be signed into law, how would that affect Cy-Fair ISD?
All costs across the district continue to rise every year, so it would help balance our budget, it would help us be able to provide salary raises for all employees and help fund operating costs. As you know, we are opening several new schools in August—Bridgeland High School, Hoover and Wells elementary schools and the replacement campus for Matzke Elementary. The passage of HB 21 would help us to continue [growing].
Are there any specific student groups that would benefit more from HB 21?
[HB 21] is creating a new allotment for students with dyslexia, so we would be able to provide additional funding for those students in our special education program. It also [slightly] increases the bilingual allotment. Career technology education includes the eighth grade, so we would be able to provide additional funding for that.
If HB 21 does not pass, how will that affect the district?
It is possible that our salary raises won’t be as high as they could have been if it does not pass. It’s possible we would dip into other funds to balance our budget, and it’s possible we wouldn’t even have a balanced budget.
Funding from the state continues to decline, which means it puts a greater burden on us. In FY 2012, the state funded about 46 percent of our operating revenue. This year, they’re only funding about 41 percent. It’s projected that in FY 2019, the state will only be funding 38 percent.
We have not increased our tax rate [of $1.44 per $100 valuation], and we can’t without voter approval. It’s not likely that an increase would pass. It puts a lot more pressure on us to be able to work within our budget, so it could cause us to start doing some other budget cuts in programs and personnel.
