Comal Independent School District trustees on Thursday approved a $274.6 million overall budget for the 2019-20 school year that includes 4% pay raises for all district employees, with an additional bonus for veteran teachers and professionals.= The total includes a general operating fund of $204,402,029, and designates $61,872,268 for debt service and $10,257,164 for child nutrition programs.  view article

All Houston ISD teachers will receive raises and every district employee will earn a $14 minimum wage after five school board members pushed through a $1.9 billion spending plan for 2019-2020, overruling Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan’s calls for a balanced budget and tighter spending. view article

Sabine ISD is set to move into the 2019-2020 school year in the black, according to figures discussed at June 28 SISD board meeting. On Friday, SISD trustees met in the administration boardroom at the district’s Gladewater campus to hold a public hearing before reviewing, discussing and passing the upcoming school year’s budget and several budget amendments. Director of Business Operations Kevin Yandell told trustees financial assessments indicated the district would move into the new school year with a profit. view article

The Judson ISD Board of Trustees approved the budget for the 2019-2020 budget on Thursday, which included a compensation plan. The goal was to provide a sustainable plan that compensates employees and allows Judson ISD to provide a quality educational environment. That compensation plan for the 2019-2020 school year includes: view article

Judson Independent School District trustees approved a budget — with a $6.4 million deficit — that provides annual salary increases of up to $1,930 for teachers, counselors, librarians and nurses, telling a crowd of frustrated teachers Thursday night that they were raising pay as much as possible. view article

With new school finance legislation approved following the 86th Texas legislative session, Klein ISD is hoping to have a budget ready by August. However, the district is not seeing the improvements they hoped for following the session. House Bill 3, a school finance and property tax reform bill, was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, causing school districts across the state to make adjustments for higher pay for teachers, counselors and nurses as well as a full-day prekindergarten program. view article

Georgetown ISD teachers, librarians, counselors and nurses with more than six years experience will get a $3,000 raise after school board approval June 27. This is equivalent to 5.3% of the midpoint salary. Those with one to five years of experience will get a 4% raise and starting teachers will get a $2,000 increase, bringing their pay to $48,000. All other staff are receiving a 3% of the midpoint raise and the district’s monthly health care contribution will increase from $341 to $378. view article

The average Lake Travis teacher will see a 5.3% salary increase next school year, amounting to about $3,000 for teachers with more than five years of experience and $2,700 for teachers with fewer than five years. All other staff with receive a 4% increase, following a vote at a school board meeting June 19. The increase comes just weeks after an $11.5 billion Texas school finance bill, House Bill 3, was signed into law, which allocated new funding for education and tax reduction—$5 billion for tax relief, $4.6 billion for education and $2 billion for teacher raises. view article

The Texas Legislature ponied up $11.6 billion for public education in this year's session. That should mean school districts — and teachers — are now flush with cash, right?  Not quite. Misconceptions about Texas' massive school finance overhaul are running fast even as districts are in the throes of finalizing their budgets for the upcoming academic year. view article

Omar Garcia with BOK Financial Securities has a new release (Release 5 dated 06/28/2019) that is now available for download.  Please read the notes on the Notes tab before entering data.  There will be more to come, so as always, please stay tuned for any new developments.  - Not major changes but changes anyway.  - js read more

TEA has released a video  on YouTube titled  Budget Planning for Teacher Compensation. read more

Crosby ISD’s full-time employees are expected to see an average pay raise of 9% for the 2019-2020 school year after the state legislature passed a landmark public school finance bill. The $11.6 billion House Bill 3, which was signed by Governor Greg Abbott June 11, included funding for teacher raises, increases per-student base funding by about $1,000, funds full-day pre-K and reduces school property taxes by an average of 8 cents per $100 valuation in 2020 and by 13 cents in 2021. view article

Huntington ISD trustees on Thursday set the 2019-20 tax rate at $1.3422. Because the district’s budget year begins in July, HISD has to have an approved budget by the start of the month. The current budget is based on projected revenue, property values, tax rate and changes to the budget process made by House Bill 3. That legislation provided increased funding for school districts with certain requirements on how to spend that money. Trustees expect to amend the budget in the coming weeks. view article

The Houston ISD board of education pushed back against the administration’s recommended budget on June 27, approving amendments to raise the minimum wage to $14 per hour, limit raises for non-teacher employees making more than $75,000 and allocate $24.5 million in additional resources for campuses. view article

Houston ISD trustees approved a $1.9 billion budget late Thursday that includes raises for all teachers, an increased minimum wage and no additional health insurance costs for employees. In a packed board room populated by dozens of educators and support staff, trustees voted 5-1 to boost salaries of teachers and many other educators by 3.5 percent to 8 percent, depending on experience levels, while also upping the minimum wage from $12 per hour to $14 per hour. Nearly all support staff earning less than $75,000 will receive an additional 3.5 percent, unless they are bumped up to the $14 per hour minimum wage. view article

Temple school board President Dan Posey heralded the adoption of his district’s 2019-20 budget as a historic moment. The school board on Wednesday unanimously approved the $111.5 million budget. It comes two weeks after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3 — the school finance and property tax reform bill that injects $6.5 billion into public education funding and $5.1 billion to lower school district tax rates. view article

The Georgetown Independent School District has approved the largest pay raise for teachers in over a decade. The Georgetown ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved the 2019-2020 budget Thursday night, which includes the pay increases. view article

Following the passage of Texas House Bill 3, a bill promising adjustments to both school finance and property taxes across the state, Cy-Fair ISD has adopted a budget for the 2019-2020 school year that includes raises for teachers. On HoustonChronicle.com: Districts promise teacher raises despite uncertainties of new school finance law On June 26, the Cy-Fair ISD board of trustees approved a $1.258 billion budget for the upcoming school year, including budget adjustments for raises, better mental health resources and a decrease in the tax rate from $1.44 to $1.37 per $100 valuation proposed for 2019-2020. view article

The Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD said while it is giving teachers a pay raise — courtesy of more state funding intended for teachers — it may be a disappointment for teachers in the district. SCUCISD superintendent Dr. Greg Gibson said Thursday the district will only be able to give teachers with less than six years of experience a 2.5 percent raise and those with six or more years a 3 percent raise. view article

Kerens ISD trustees Monday, June 24 passed the district’s 2019-20 school-year budget, which starts July 1 and includes at least a six-percent raise for every employee, totaling about $667,000 and accounting for around 80 percent of the budget increase. The raises come courtesy of state legislation that boosts the basic per-student state allotment from $5,140 to $6,160, said Superintendent Martin Brumit, and which also mandates that each Texas school district lower its maintenance and operations (M&O) portion of the tax rate by seven cents, which Brumit said is “a very positive thing for this community.” view article

For the second year in a row, Montgomery ISD is facing another million-dollar shortfall for the 2019-20 school year. At the June 25 board meeting, trustees adopted the 2019-20 general operating budget, the child nutrition budget, the debt service budget and the employee compensation plan, factoring in raises and reduced property tax rates made mandatory by the passage of House Bill 3. With a planned $72.78 million net revenue in the operating fund this school year, the district is still facing a $4.39 million shortfall, expecting the school year to cost $77.16 million, officials said. view article

An additional $3 million to Palestine Independent School District, including raises of roughly $5,000 for 300 teachers, is just one of the benefits schools districts statewide will get from a $11.6-billion finance law. Called one of the legislature's biggest school finance reforms, House Bill 3 will funnel most of its benefits to local school districts to pay for school staff pay raises, said Palestine Independent School District Superintendent Jason Marshall.   “The message Austin is sending is that teachers are valuable,” Palestine ISD spokesperson Larissa Loveless said. “State legislators are giving teachers money they've deserved for a long time.” view article

Plano ISD officials project the district will face a deficit in its operating budget for the 2019-20 school year despite recent sweeping changes to the state’s public school funding formulas. Under the state’s previous funding formulas, the district projected a $33.6 million operating budget shortfall for the 2019-20 school year. After Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3 into law on June 11, the district now projects it will face an $18 million shortfall. view article

Interesting distribution of new funds - js The Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees has approved a $589.7 million operating budget for the 2019-2020 school year contingent upon final funding levels from the Texas Education Agency.  The board unanimously adopted the budget after a public hearing at a special-called meeting Tuesday night, but reserved the right to modify its provisions based on funding levels, which TEA is expected to announce Sept. 1.  BISD must adopt its budget for next year by July 1, the beginning of its fiscal year. view article

The Fort Worth school board voted unanimously in favor of an estimated $821.5 million general fund budget Tuesday that gives teachers and employees a pay boost while investing in campus programs. The board voted 7-0 in favor of the budget. Two trustees, T.A. Sims and Anne Darr, were not present for the vote. view article

San Marcos CISD approved next year’s budget, adding employee raises across the board. The district is spending $2.6 million to make salary increases possible for all district employees. view article

Pflugerville ISD staff, faculty and members of the local teacher’s union packed the district’s board room and spilled into the hallway of the administration building ahead of a June 25 trustees vote on pay increases for the upcoming school year. Several held signs advocating for an 8% raise, others asked for raises comparable to their peers at Round Rock ISD, Austin ISD and Leander ISD. In the end, trustees approved a minimum 6.7% pay increase for teachers, librarians, nurses, counselors and licensed professionals. That represents one of the larger pay increase scales across the region, according to the district. view article

The Fort Worth school board is expected to vote on an estimated $821.5 million general fund budget Tuesday that gives teachers and employees a pay boost while investing in campus programs. That budget, which doesn’t include the state’s recent House Bill 3 compensation plan, outlines spending for the upcoming school year. It includes teacher raises and stipends for bilingual educators. An estimated $18.4 million is part of a compensation package that includes teacher raises, pay grade adjustments, increased beginning teacher salaries and bilingual stipends. The district has been exploring a compensation package for months even before Texas lawmakers approved House Bill 3, a school finance bill includes funds for teacher raises. view article

The federal wire fraud case against a Florida man accused of duping the Crowley Independent School District out of nearly $2 million has been dismissed without prejudice, according to court records, meaning charges could be filed again at a later date. view article

The Lockhart ISD School Board took steps Monday night to keep their school employees by increasing base pay for first-time teachers and pay for teachers and non-teaching staff. There’s a lot to like about a small town like Lockhart: a busy courthouse square, grand old homes, quiet affordable neighborhoods, and the barbecue which is a big draw here. However, the lifestyle offered in Lockhart, and in similar small school districts, may not be enough to retain solid school employees. view article

The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees adopted a budget for the 2019-20 school year at its June 17 meeting. It included state-mandated pay raises for teachers, more options for younger students and increased support for special education students. The district’s budget for the upcoming school year sits at $716,864,705, or $9,283 per student, which is projecting for an enrollment of 77,226. The majority of the budget – about 81 percent, according to a news release from the district – will support instruction and instructional support, including classroom teachers and aides, health services, guidance counseling and mental health support. Meanwhile, 17 percent will be allocated for district operations, including transportation, maintenance and repairs, information technology and police services. view article

The Northwest ISD board of trustees at its June 24 meeting unanimously approved the district’s fiscal year 2019-20 budget and expects to operate on a budget deficit during the upcoming fiscal year. The district is forecasting $310.83 million in revenue for fiscal year 2019-20. General fund revenue will make up the largest portion at about $221.37 million of the district’s total revenue. NISD approved $242.48 million in general fund expenditures, which include general operations of the district. view article

Cy-Fair ISD’s board of trustees plans to adopt a $992.3 million budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year later this week. The proposed budget includes a $27.5 million deficit, according to the district’s incoming Chief Financial Officer Karen Smith. This proposal—presented at a June 24 work session—is based on a property tax rate of $1.37, which is seven cents less than the 2018-19 tax rate. The district anticipates $964.7 million in total revenue in 2019-20 with 43.48% of funding coming from the state and 54.32% coming from local property taxes, Smith said. view article

Thanks to money from this year’s legislative session, most Round Rock school district teachers, counselors and librarians will receive as much as an 8% pay raise next school year as part of the annual budget passed by trustees on Thursday. District staff said the salary increases cost $22.3 million, an increase from $14.8 million previously approved by the board. Teachers, librarians and nurses with six years or more of experience will receive a $4,300 raise, and those with one to five years will receive a pay raise between $3,200 and $3,600. Counselors and licensed professionals will receive similar increases. view article

Trustees for the North East Independent School District approved a 3% raise for all employees Thursday evening. That’s about $1,600 more for a teacher that made $53,000 in the 2018-2019 school year. Classroom teachers with more than five years experience also received additional incentives to comply with the state’s new school funding law. view article