HISD’s revenue each year comes from several sources, but state funding—which is tied to enrollment—is a major factor in future planning.
THE FUNDING PUZZLE
A W I D E N I N G G A P
State funding: Calculated under a complex system that typically sees state funding allocations fall and rise alongside a district’s weighted average daily enrollment T y p i c a l s o u r c e s
Federal funding: Includes the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program, a temporary injection during the coronavirus pandemic O t h e r s o u r c e s
Property taxes: The largest source of revenue, but
Bond elections: An opportunity to raise voter- approved funds for speci c purposes that must be repaid over the lifetime, typically through tax revenue
also subject to recapture, by which the state takes revenue increases from property-rich districts and redistributes it
A l o c a l l o o k
ENROLLMENT LOSSES Houston ISD leaders said increasing student enrollment is the main way the district can control its own fate when it comes to maintaining revenue levels.
Enrollment has been on the decline at most elementary schools in the Heights, River Oaks and Montrose area.
The strategic plan was pitched in Houston ISD as the district faces a worsening budget de cit.
School
2018-19
2020-21 Change
De cit Surplus
Revenue
Expenditures
-9.8% -5% -7.1% -10.3% -1.5% +1.7% -18% -8.1% -10.4% -8.7% -5% +1.9% +1% +19.4% -2%
Browning Crockett Field Gregory- Lincoln Harvard Helms Love Memorial Poe River Oaks St. George Sinclair Travis Wharton Wilson
443 556 431 665 647 482 310 316 776 616 753 591 694 610 590
491 585 464 741 657 474 378 344 866 675 793 580 687 511 602
*PROJECTED
250K
-9.1%
2017-18
-$89M
200K
2018-19
+$206M
213,528
209,309
194,607
209,040
2019-20
+$149M
150K
196,943
194,113
2020-21
+$29M
100K
2021-22*
-$69M
2022-23*
-$195M
50K
$0
$0.5B
$1B
$1.5B
$2B
$2.5B
0
SOURCE: HOUSTON ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
*Projected
Budgetary reckoning The budget freezes and reductions announced March 3 will save the dis- trict roughly $100million in the 2021-22 school year, which House said will now be subject to stronger vettingmeasures for how it can be spent. Departments and school principals will have the ability to make requests that will be reviewed for approval. The campus-based freeze a ected 75% of each school’s unspent general funds, though it did not a ect criti- cal funds such as payroll and special
The announced freeze came as a sur- prise to some parents and members of the board of trustees, whom in public comments and in interviews with Com- munity Impact Newspaper said they understand the need to act boldly but are concerned things are starting o on the wrong foot. “The budget process should be more collaborative and transparent,” said Amy Maddux, a parent of four HISD students. “The district should be working with the individual schools, their principals and their [shared
decision-making committees] to seek feedback and make budget adjust- ments in a way that both achieves the district’s goals and makes sense for the individual schools.” Meanwhile, more details about the strategic plan have been released, including a proposal to boost employee salaries. Another proposal would shift funding from being campus-based to being centrally funded for a variety of materials and services, including ne arts, athletics, and career and technical education, among others.
CONTINUED FROM 1
remainder of scal year 2021-22, which runs through June 30. House said the freezes are neces- sary as HISD attempts to deal with what he called “a structural budget de cit that will continue to grow if left unchecked.” “We’re going to act aggressively ... to address our nancial challenges and be transparent about the hard choices that need to be made to get us through,” House said at the March 3 meeting.
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