The Woodlands Edition | August 2023

EDUCATION Conroe ISD among Texas schools facing nancial struggles

2023 EDUCATION EDITION

BUDGET BINDS Ination 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.

Estimated allotment with ination

Allotment per student

$7,313

$7,500

School districts across Texas, including Conroe ISD, are facing budgetary issues and waiting to see if help might come as the state prepares to enter another possible legislative session in October. The state entered the 88th Legisla- ture in January with nearly $33 billion in its coers 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 nonprot education advocacy group. “It was a session out of balance,” Popinski said. “It was absolutely sur- prising. ... All the recommendations ended up failing.” In an Aug. 1 public hearing for Con- roe ISD’s 2023-24 budget the board of trustees discussed challenges such as keeping up nancially with the district’s unprecedented growth, lack of funding for teacher raises and 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 ination, which has driven up operating costs, as well as state and federal money drying up that was tied to the COVID- 19 pandemic, Popinski said. 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 high ination. The overview BY CASSANDRA JENKINS & JAMES T. NORMAN

to increase teacher pay and the per-student allotment funding given to school districts. The statewide per-student allot- ment 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 ination. How we got here Due to high rates of ination in recent years—totaling about 18.5% from April 2019-April 2023, according to the Texas comptroller’s oce—school districts have had trouble keeping up with rising costs of their operations. According to budget documents from districts in Community Impact’s coverage areas, some of those items aected by ination include fuel for buses, supplies for schools, teacher pay, property insurance and food. On the state side, many funding bills failed because of eorts to tie them to a private school voucher program as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s goal to make private institutions more aordable to families in Texas, Pop- inski said. The program didn’t garner enough support in the Legislature, blocking many bills from passing that otherwise might have had the needed votes, he said. Put into perspective While they wait for potential state action, school district ocials this summer are approving new budgets— some of which are still anticipating help from the state. State funding is based on the

$6,969

$7,000

$6,437

$6,500

$6,160

$6,180

$6,000

$6,160*

$6,160

April 2019

April 2020

April 2021

April 2022

April 2023

NOTE: ALLOTMENT WITH INFLATION USED A CALCULATOR FROM THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. *THE $6,160 ALLOTMENT WENT INTO EFFECT IN SEPTEMBER AND WAS REFLECTED ON BUDGETS FOR THE 201920 SCHOOL YEAR. SOURCES: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, RAISE YOUR HAND TEXASCOMMUNITY IMPACT

average daily attendance. According to Darrin Rice, the district’s chief nancial ocer, CISD’s daily student attendance rate dropped from an average 94.3% prepandemic to 92.5% in the 2022-23 school year, where it is projected to stay for 2023-24. Due to the lower attendance rate, CISD does not receive the full $6,160 basic per-student allotment from the state. Instead, the district’s per stu- dent allotment is actually $5,790, according to Rice. Despite the lower basic student allotment, the dis- trict’s expenditures are expected to increase by $49.46 million to account for additional personnel growth, ination adjustments and the cost of portable buildings. The increase does not include a salary raise for teachers. The dis- trict adopted a resolution Aug. 1 to approve the payment of $11 million in teacher stipends from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund while it waits for the Legislature to pass a bill to provide teacher raises in 2023-24. The district’s preliminary expen- diture budget for the 2023-24 school year is $672.77 million, while the district’s tax rate is expected to decrease from $1.1146 to $0.9621 per $100 valuation. What they’re saying School district ocials across the state and in CISD have shared their feelings on the state’s role in this year’s budget-making process.

“SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE IN A PRETTY TOUGH POSITION GOING FORWARD." BOB POPINSKI, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF POLICY FOR

RAISE YOUR HAND TEXAS

“With the budget surplus that the Legislature had and their stated goal of increasing salaries for educators, we are disappointed that it has not yet happened,” CISD Superintendent Curtis Null said. In the current funding formula, Null said there is no money for sta raises. What happens next? Despite many school ocials’ comments throughout the state, there is still time for the state Legislature to pass a bill on school funding and teacher pay raises in a third session. In the meantime, with shortfalls and a growing need to increase teacher compensation, many dis- tricts will likely be dipping into their fund balances to make ends meet, Popinski said. “School districts are in a pretty tough position going forward,” he said. CISD is expected to adopt its budget and tax rate Aug. 15, after press time.

“WITH THE BUDGET SURPLUS THAT THE LEGISLATURE HAD AND THEIR STATED GOAL OF INCREASING SALARIES FOR EDUCATORS, WE ARE DISAPPOINTED THAT IT HAS NOT YET HAPPENED."

CURTIS NULL, CONROE ISD SUPERINTENDENT

THE WOODLANDS EDITION • AUGUST 2023