Sugar Land - Missouri City Edition | July 2024

Education

BY KELLY SCHAFLER & AUBREY VOGEL

FBISD launches free summer meals Children age 18 and under can receive free breakfast and lunch from select Fort Bend ISD campuses June 3-July 26. According to FBISD’s website, campuses in Sugar Land and Missouri City oer this, including Thurgood Marshall and Progres- sive high schools; Missouri City Middle School; and Armstrong, EA Jones, Edgar Glover, Hunters Glen, Lantern Lane, Quail Valley and Townewest elementary schools.

Trustees adopt 202425 budget amid constraints Fort Bend ISD unanimously adopted a balanced budget for the scal year 2024-25 at the June 10 meeting amid revenue uncertainties for the upcom- ing school years and nancial constraints. According to budget documents, components of the 2024-25 budget include: • A projected student enrollment of 80,572, which is higher than the 2023-24 enrollment following a slowing in enrollment growth overall • A proposed tax rate remaining at $0.9869 per $100 property valuation There also won’t be employees raises due to budget constraints, but $3.5 million already went to step increases provided by revenues from the voter-approval tax rate election, sta said. Digging deeper During May budget discussions, FBISD sta

“We will be able to ... have a greater sense of what we can anticipate potentially so that then we can take the

next steps to begin to have a plan in place for the out [of legislative session] years.” MARC SMITH, FORT BEND ISD SUPERINTENDENT

said they’d identied $24.7 million in priorities and only $3.55 million of exible funding. This comes after FBISD previously made $39 million in expenditure cuts in FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24, sta said. What’s next While the board is required to pass the FY 2024-25 budget by June 30, board President Kris- tin Tassin said trustees will hold more workshops in July to discuss and potentially amend next year’s budget. The rst is set for July 9, after press time.

For more details on meal sites, visit communityimpact. com .

Trustees to consider options to reduce bond shortfall Fort Bend ISD sta have identied several ways to further reduce the shortfall on its $1.26 billion May 2023 bond program, but they’re now seeking board assistance to determine next steps.

Culling the shortfall For the remaining $61.2 million shortfall, potential funding options include the district:

Superintendent Marc Smith recommended mak- ing decisions on which projects could be delayed to reallocate funds to other projects. The update Board President Kristin Tassin said she asked the board’s legal counsel and sta for recommenda- tions on how to move forward. However, she said she’d rather not cut projects impacting students.

Using $6 million in contingency funds from the 2018 and 2023 bonds Using $500,000 in federal funds awarded to Mission Bend Elementary School Applying for state school safety grants to reallocate safety bond funds for other projects

The $163.2 million shortfall has been reduced to $61.2 million since February, FBISD ocials said at the board of trustees’ June 3 workshop meeting. Additionally, sta cut $12.6 million o the amount since the May board update.

SOURCE: FORT BEND ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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