EDUCATION
2023 EDUCATION EDITION
BUDGET BINDS In ation in Texas has gone up by nearly 20% between April 2019-April 2023—the most recent data available. However, the per-student allotment, which sits at $6,160, has yet to be increased in that time, tightening school district budgets around the state.
School districts await budget help from special legislative session
Projected allotment with in ation
Allotment per student
School districts across Texas are facing budgetary issues and are waiting to see if help might be coming as the state gets closer to wrapping up this year’s legislative session. The state entered the 88th Legis- lature with nearly $33 billion in its reserves and a list of funding plans for public schooling. However, beyond a few small examples, larger funding bills have yet to materialize, said Bob Popinski, senior director of policy for Raise Your Hand Texas, a nonpro t education advocacy group. “It was a session out of balance,” Popinski said. “It was absolutely sur- prising. ... All the recommendations ended up failing.” The overview Multiple school districts across the state are either proposing or approv- ing budget shortfalls for the 2023-24 school year. This is due to a number of economic factors, such as in ation, which has driven up operating costs, as well as state and federal money tied to the COVID-19 pandemic drying up, Popinski said. On the other side of that issue is an ongoing national teacher shortage with budget issues making it more di cult to increase compensation and retain teachers. Nearly all proposals aimed at increasing school funding in the legislative session ended up on the cutting room oor, Popinski said. Among those included proposals to increase teacher pay and the per-student allotment funding given to school districts. The per-student allotment sits at $6,160 and has not been increased since House Bill 3 passed in 2019, Popinski said. The state would need to add roughly $1,000 this year to the allotment to match in ation that’s happened since the last increase. How we got here Due to high rates of in ation in recent years—totaling about 18.5% from April 2019-April 2023, according to the Texas comptroller’s o ce—school districts have had trouble keeping up with rising costs BY JAMES T. NORMAN & BROOKE SJOBERG
of their operations. Budget documents reviewed by Community Impact indicate some of those items a ected by in ation include: • Fuel for buses • Supplies for schools • Teacher pay • Property insurance • Food On the state side, many funding bills failed because of e orts to tie them to a private school voucher program as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s goal to make private institutions more a ordable to families in Texas. The program lacked support from both sides, blocking many bills from passing that otherwise might have had the needed votes, Popinski said. Put into perspective While they wait for potential state action, school district o cials this summer are approving new budgets— some of which are still anticipating help from the state—and many are predicting shortfalls this upcoming 2023-24 year. Houston ISD, which is in the middle of a takeover from the state, approved a $2.2 billion budget June 22 with a $168.5 million shortfall, Community Impact previously reported. Up north, Dallas ISD is expecting a $157.4 million shortfall, according to the district’s proposed budget. Local school districts are nding a similar struggle: P ugerville ISD is contending with a $7.9 million shortfall for the upcoming school year, Community Impact reported. Many are also expecting shortfalls in the coming years too, according to sev- eral districts’ budgetary documents. “The biggest issue is the funding formula and student enrollment,” PfISD Superintendent Douglas Killian said. “The combination of those two things along with the attendance since the pandemic has really hit us hard.” What they’re saying In recent months, school district o cials from across the state have not been shy about sharing their feelings on the state’s role in this year’s budget-making process.
$7,313
$7,500
$6,969
$7,000
$6,437
$6,500
$6,160
$6,180
$6,000
$6,160
$6,160
$6,160
$6,160
$6,160
$0
April 2019
April 2020
April 2021
April 2022
April 2023
SOURCES: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, RAISE YOUR HAND TEXAS COMMUNITY IMPACT NOTE: ALLOTMENT WITH INFLATION USED A CALCULATOR FROM THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. WHAT OFFICIALS ARE SAYING School districts around the state are proposing shortfalls in their budgets this year and are pinning much of the blame on the lack of action from the state Legislature this session.
"[Texas is] 42nd in the nation in funding public education, and that is appalling and embarrassing.”
AMBER LANDRUM, ROUND ROCK ISD BOARD PRESIDENT
“All things considered, I thought I'd never say this in my career, but that [FY 2023-24] de cit budget looks pretty good.”
GLENN GRAHAM, HUTTO ISD CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
JENNIFER LAND, PFLUGERVILLE ISD CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER “Each time I look at the budget, it seems like there’s something else—something that we, as the district, have no control over. We are doing the best we can with what we have.”
Board Secretary Lynn Boswell at Austin ISD, which passed a $2.1 billion budget with a $52.25 million shortfall in June, said the state did not help in the district’s budget this year, prompt- ing o cials to make “painful choices that impact our students.” The Round Rock ISD 2023-34 budget shows a shortfall of either $7 million or $20 million, depending on whether the district awards an additional 3% in compensation for employees. Trustee Ti anie Harrison said it’s the toughest budget she has seen in her three years on the school board. “We’re going to have to make di cult decisions,” she said. Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, said in a July 6 emailed statement to Community Impact that more money will be available to districts when the state passes the school choice legislation, adding it’s an
e ort to “empower parents.” “Gov. Abbott has prioritized public education funding and sup- port for our hardworking teachers throughout his time in o ce,” he
said in the statement. What happens next?
Despite many school o cials’ comments throughout the state, there is still time for the state Legis- lature to pass something. The state is working through special sessions right now, which could include some school funding bills, Popinski said. In the meantime, with shortfalls and a growing need to increase teacher compensation, many districts will likely be dipping into their reserves to make ends meet, Popinski said. “School districts are in a pretty tough position going forward,” he said.
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PFLUGERVILLE HUTTO EDITION • AUGUST 2023
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