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As school districts enter into a new fiscal year, read about the recently approved budgets for San Marcos and Hays CISDs.
1. Hays CISD adopts $275M surplus budget
The HCISD board of trustees approved the fiscal year 2026-27 budget at the meeting.
The overview
The general fund budget includes $275.42 million in expenditures and $287.68 million in revenues, resulting in a surplus budget.
The largest expenditure by function is instruction, at $159.59 million. This is a $5.33 million decrease from last year.
"Payroll is the largest part of our expenditures at 85%," Chief Financial Officer Deborah Ottmers said.
The general operating budget also includes $28.02 million for plant maintenance, $13.89 million for school leadership, $12.98 million for pupil transportation and $10.29 million in general administration.
The largest revenue source for HCISD is state funding, coming in at $146.97 million.
2. San Marcos CISD approves budget with $2.29M shortfall
During a June 15 meeting, the San Marcos CISD board of trustees approved the district’s 2026-27 budget with a shortfall in the general fund.
The budget estimates approximately $92.89 million in general fund revenues and $95.18 million in expenditures, resulting in a planned shortfall of about $2.29 million.
The overview
The budget includes a staff compensation plan that provides a staff-wide salary increase and decreases the district’s monthly insurance contributions.
What they're saying
“The proposed deficit is significantly lower than deficits presented in recent years, and reflects the administration's efforts to align expenditures with available revenues, while continuing to meet the needs of our students and staff,” Chief Financial Officer Denise Gonzalez-Garcia said.
