Spring ISD has begun the budgeting process for the upcoming 2022-23 fiscal year, and district officials said they are planning to cut department budgets by 5% compared to last fiscal year.
“Right now, what we’re in the middle of is gathering all of our information,” SISD Chief Financial Officer Ann Westbrooks said at the board’s March 8 workshop. “Gathering our data.”
Budget meetings with campus principals began in early March, Westbrooks said, and will conclude March 23. District leaders and the financial department hope to meet with each department head individually during this time. Last fiscal year, SISD departments were asked to cut their budgets by 5% compared to the 2019-20 fiscal year.
“The same is true for [fiscal year] 2022-23,” Westbrooks said. “[Departments] are receiving a budget that is again 95% of [FY 2021-22]. So that means that’s about a 10% overall cut to our departmental budgets.”
The budget cuts come as the district has experienced a decrease in student enrollment since the 2019-20 school year, Westbrooks said. Since 2019-20, SISD’s enrollment has dropped by about 2,000 students. According to district officials, since attendance is used to calculate the district’s state funding, fewer students will mean less funding.
While departments will be asked to cut their budgets by 5% for the upcoming year, this cut will not apply to school campus budgets, Superintendent Lupita Hinojosa said March 8.
“We’re not cutting any amounts from the schools,” Hinojosa said. “They’re remaining whole, and we’re addressing their needs. For the departments, we’ve asked for a 5% cut, and we’ll have the opportunities to have individual meetings, so if there are any specific needs ... we’ll make those exceptions.”
At the meeting, SISD board President Justine Durant asked whether a budget cut would be realistic for district departments in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“I would think they would need more, not less,” Durant said.
Westbrooks said a 5% reduction is realistic in many cases, but “uncontrollable costs” like the rising prices of gasoline and inflation will be accounted for in the final budget.
“We’re setting aside funds for that purpose,” she said.
The district will receive its certified property values from the central appraisal district, which will help the district calculate budget numbers and the tax rates by April 30. A meeting will be held June 14 for trustees to consider adopting the final budget.
