The details
Public schools in Texas has not seen an increase in the basic allotment of $6,160 per student since 2019, according to the Texas Education Agency. CFISD officials said schools statewide are struggling with costs as the Texas Legislature considers bills that could boost public school funding.
Smith said the current state funding formula does not account for cost-of-living increases or inflation, which rose by 20% from 2019 to August 2024, according to a CFISD presentation on Feb. 6.
As a result of these financial challenges, CFISD officials have outlined a proposed budget for the FY 2025-26 aimed at maintaining essential services while addressing the projected shortfall. The budget includes adjustments across various departments, reflecting the district’s efforts to balance rising expenses with limited revenue.
CFISD’s preliminary budget for FY 2025-26 includes:
- $1.1 billion in revenue
- $1.2 billion in expenses
- $50.1 million projected shortfall
To cut costs, CFISD administrators are recommending reducing the number of unfilled positions by 2%, which could save about $18 million, Smith said. The district is also considering adjusting teacher allocations to match the projected 1% drop in enrollment, potentially saving an additional $6.8 million.
Smith said the district expects a $5.4 million increase in spending to cover a full year of transportation salaries and instructional software.
The district expects to generate an additional $22.6 million in revenue for FY 2025-26 through a higher golden penny yield and revenue from property value audits, Smith said.
With funding allocated, CFISD Superintendent Doug Killian outlined several of his top priorities for the district, including:
- A general pay increase to help with teacher retention
- $1,000 stipends for teachers at economically disadvantaged campuses
- Stipends to teachers in special education and other critical shortage areas
- Using savings to address police officers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers and other positions
- “I really want to put some money aside as well to try to address and bring back as many of those [bus] routes as we possibly can," Killian said. "Beyond that, it’s really just a case of, what are we going to get from the legislature?”
- “From a budget perspective, we’re looking at deficit budgets that can’t go indefinitely," trustee Justin Ray said. "We had a deficit budget [for] this current budget, we’ll be looking at a deficit budget [for] the next budget, and of course, if you run deficit budgets, ... you run out of money. That is definitely not sustainable. That’s why we’re so focused ... on the Legislature, what kind of funding we’re going to get.”
- “As part of the budget development process, board members and district administrators are establishing priorities for if the state increases our funding and if no," trustee Julie Hinaman said. "We won’t know for sure until June when we need to pass a budget, so much work is taking place now to prepare different contingencies.”
CFISD will hold a public budget workshop May 22 at the Mark Henry Administration Building, with a livestream available online. A formal budget hearing will follow in June, and the district plans to adopt the FY 2025-26 budget June 23.
