BY LIZZY SPANGLER
Also of note
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POTENTIAL PROJECT TIMELINE*
of school districts out there having to do two things,” Popinski said. “They’re going to have to cut back programs to save money. And then just to keep the rest of the school district afloat, they’re going to have to dip into their fund balance and adopt what’s called a [shortfall] budget.” Fails said that at this point, district officials do not think WISD will face a shortfall budget amid a focus on providing staff raises. “[Raises] is what our finance department and our school board is focusing heavily on,” Fails said. During the April 10 meeting, the WISD board of trustees approved a 3% raise for all staff and raised the salary for new teachers to $56,000. Fails also called the lack of action by the state regarding funding “very unfortunate.” “When you’re talking about the amount of inflation and the amount of increase in just the world that we live in that has happened, and for [the Legislature] to have not increased any of our student funding, it’s pretty abysmal,” Fails said.
The district cannot fund infrastructure projects with its annual budget, as 85% of it is used for salaries, with the rest going toward things such as curriculum, maintenance and utilities, Fails said. “There’s not a significant amount of money that would ever be available at one time in order to build actual facilities that run in the millions based on construction needs,” Fails said. “All school dis- tricts have bond debt if they’re growing. All school districts have needs for facilities and buildings. It’s just how it happens in Texas. There’s not a way for us to absorb that cost in-house.” Districts are also facing budget concerns fol- lowing the 88th legislative session in 2023, during which essentially no action on school funding took place. Bob Popinski, the senior director of policy for Raise Your Hand Texas, a nonprofit education advocacy group, said he expects a majority of school districts in Texas to face shortfall budgets in fiscal year 2024-25. “What you’re going to see is probably a big bulk
2024
Summer/fall: Design begins on all bond projects except the aquatic center
2025
Spring: Design begins on aquatic center Summer/fall: Construction begins on all bond projects
2026
Spring: Transportation center opens Fall: Student activity center opens
2027
Spring: Athletic complex and stadium, aquatic center opens Fall: Ninth-grade expansion opens
SOURCE: WILLIS ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT *THIS TIMELINE ASSUMES ALL 2024 BOND PROPOSITIONS PASS.
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CONROE - MONTGOMERY EDITION
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