Inflation, learning loss linger post-pandemic From the cover
The action taken
What’s happening
CFISD is advocating for additional funding by engaging with local legislators during the 89th legislative session, which began Jan. 14. District officials said the lack of funding has led CFISD to establish legislative priorities such as: • Changing the state’s funding formula for the local optional homestead exemption as CFISD’s 20% property tax break results in $91 million in lost property tax revenue annually • An increase in the safety and security allotment • An increase in the special education allotment and the transition to an intensity-based funding formula, which would set student allotments based on required services • An increase in the transportation allotment, which has remained unchanged since the 1980s “We want to concentrate on things like aca- demics. We want to have tutoring programs for our kids, … but it’s going to be very difficult to do when we have to cut other things in the district in order to just make ends meet,” Killian said.
Public schools in Texas receive a base $6,160 per student annually, but this rate hasn’t been increased since 2019, CFISD Chief Financial Officer Karen Smith said. She said she believes legislators should increase the basic allotment by $1,300 to bring the district’s funding back to where it was in 2019. House Bill 2 proposes a $220 boost to base school funding, changes to special education funding and more. The proposal would invest nearly $7.6 billion in public education, Community Impact previously reported. Bill author Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, said this would be “a larger investment for Texas public schools and our education system than any other legislation we’ve filed in the history of the state.” Chronic absenteeism in CFISD grew from 5.5% in 2019-20 to 22% in 2021-22 also impacting school funding as well as academics and student engagement, officials said.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education nationwide, and five years later, Cy-Fair ISD is still grappling with the long-term effects of supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and 20% inflation from 2019 to August 2024, district officials said. Despite rising inflation, CFISD Superintendent Doug Killian said public schools haven’t received additional state funding since 2019. “We’re going to have to make hard choices if we don’t get enough money to pay for that inflation,” Killian said Feb. 6. To offset the fiscal year 2024-25 shortfall, CFISD cut $58.7 million from the budget, including librarian staff, support staff and bus routes. While district officials said schools are scrambling statewide to absorb the costs, the Texas Legislature is reviewing several bills this session that could potentially increase state funding for public schools.
Cy-Fair ISD per-pupil spending, 2018-19 vs. 2023-24 +60%
Spending breakdown, 2024-25
+40%
+40%
0% +20% +40% -20% -40%
Cy-Fair ISD spending
State funding
+28%
+18%
Safety
$49.5M
$2.4M
-8%
Special education
$99.4M
$577.6M
-56%
-60%
Transportation
Food services
Instruction
General administration
Instructional staff support services
Pupil support services
Student transportation
$8M
$38M
SOURCE: CY-FAIR ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Measuring the impact
CFISD’s STAAR passage rate changes in percentage points, 2019 vs. 2024 Reading Math -20 -30 -10 0 +10
close gaps while keeping pace with new curricu- lum requirements,” Goree said in an email. At the high school level, Goree said academic recovery continues, with performance in biology and U.S. history returning to pre-pandemic levels and English II exceeding pre-pandemic passage rates. Algebra I and English I continue to make progress toward pre-pandemic levels, Goree said. In response to learning loss, Goree said CFISD has invested in professional development, intro- duced student support programs such as free math and reading summer camps, implemented full-day pre-K, and extended the school day by 15 minutes.
While the district continues to exceed the state average in most subjects and grade levels of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readi- ness, CFISD saw lower math passage rates on the 2023-24 STAAR for every grade level compared to 2018-2019, according to Texas Education Agency federal report cards. CFISD Chief Academic Officer Tonya Goree attributed this decline to lingering gaps from the pandemic, the shift to online learning and changes in the STAAR test format. “Foundational math concepts were disrupted during virtual learning, making it challenging to
3rd grade 4th grade 5th grade 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade
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