At the Tomball ISD trustees' Feb. 9 meeting, Chief Financial Officer Zack Boles presented the audited annual fund balance report. The purpose of the balance report is to ensure the district has enough funds available in the case of "unanticipated events” or disasters.
What the experts say
The audited fund balance as of June 30, 2025, is as follows:
- Non-spendable fund balance: $890,906
- Restricted fund balance: $3.5 million
- Committed fund balance: $23.12 million
- Assigned fund balance: $0
- Unassigned fund balance: $82.42 million
The non-spendable fund balance would be allocated mostly for “inventories held in the district,” such as transportation, child nutrition, custodial and maintenance departments, Boles said. The $3.5 million held as restricted funds represents state-mandated programs; in the case of TISD, this applies to the career and technical education allotment, Boles said.
Boles said that these funds are set aside at the beginning of each financial year and are released via request at designated meetings.
The committed fund balance can only be accessed by the TISD board via a resolution. As it currently stands, $20 million of the $23 million has been set aside for various construction projects. As bond 2021 construction projects continue to move forward, money from the committed fund balance will be released as well, Boles said.
“Our team at [Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam] and Mr. [Jim] Ross are working to ensure that we complete all of the bond 2021 projects and return all of these funds to the general fund unused,” Boles said.
The $82 million in unassigned fund balance remains as a general 4.15-month operating budget for any growing needs the district may need, Boles said.
Items worth mentioning
TISD trustees also heard a presentation covering schematics for the soon-to-be-built Tomball Intermediate School. The presentation was done by Caitlin Munch, a project architect at Huckabee Architects, who said that during the collaboration and design stages, TISD emphasized four desires:
- Student independence and exploration
- Teacher collaboration and interdisciplinary learning
- Meaningful integration of digital tools
- Informal gathering, small group instruction, and project-based learning
Taking these four needs into account when designing the school facility, the new Tomball Intermediate School is planned to have a “sleek and open light design,” Munch said. Also built into the design are multiple vantage points for teachers and student resource officers to watch students moving to and from the campus during school hours. There are also multiple green spaces and community areas for students to study and relax on campus between classes and lunch.
