The Alaska House of Representatives ended days of deadlock with an unusual bipartisan triumph late Thursday, voting 38-2 to authorize a major increase in the state’s funding formula for public schools. “I’ve been around for a few years, and tonight really is a historical night. We have flipped the script of a major omnibus bill by doing it early in the session,” said Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham and a House member since 2007. “We came together: Republicans, Democrats, independents, nonpartisans, and we got something done,” said Rep. Mike Cronk, R-Tok. The $680 increase to the state’s base student allocation, contained in the version of Senate Bill 140 that passed the House on Thursday night, is the largest nominal bump in state history. view article

North Texas school districts face the possibility of campus closures and staff cuts as education leaders confront stagnant state funding, rising inflation and declining enrollment. “It’s rough out there,” said Amanda Brownson, deputy executive director of the Texas Association of School Business Officials. Richardson ISD officials presented Thursday a proposal to close a handful of elementary schools and reshape attendance boundaries. Fort Worth education leaders earlier this month announced the district would cut roughly 130 positions. Across the state, districts face budget shortfalls that will trigger hard choices. view article

Richardson school district leaders will kick off a round of 'Listening Meetings' Monday night to explain to parents why their kid's elementary schools will be closing. view article

Brownsville ISD school board members are deciding whether to shut down three of their campuses. It’s part of a plan to address the district's $20 million budget deficit. If three schools close, district interim superintendent Dr. Jesus Chavez says would save the district $3 million. “We want to use those funds for the benefit of all the students here in Brownsville ISD, so if we do get to consolidate, then there will be some savings that will be reinvested in our school district in our students,” Chavez said. Rosa Sifuentes has three children that attend Rosa Del Castillo Elementary School, it’s one of six schools on the district’s consolidation plan. Sifuentes gathered 20 other district parents to protest the proposed plan. view article

FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth ISD is coping with budget constraints and declining enrollment. The district is looking for qualified teachers while cutting some non-teaching positions. view article

A temporary workaround is now available for immigrant families who have been affected by glitches in the revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Since the new FAFSA launched in late December, parents without a Social Security number have been unable to add their financial information and complete the form. According to a census data analysis by the left-leaning think tank Every Texan, one in four children in Texas has at least one parent who is not a U.S. citizen. Those parents often lack a Social Security number. The workaround: Applicants facing pressing state or school deadlines can now submit an incomplete FAFSA online without a parent’s signature. Doing so will get applicants an email confirming they have submitted their FAFSA, which they can share with schools to meet their deadlines. view article

For the third year in a row, McAllen ISD leadership is staring down the barrel of a difficult budget process for the 2024-2025 school year. The district is facing an unaddressed $6.2 million budget deficit for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. To compound that issue, McAllen ISD projects a budget deficit of $13.8 million for the 2024-2025 school year. It’s a less than ideal situation. Adding to a lack of state support and stagnant enrollment that the district has attributed its monetary woes to for the past two years is the drying up of federal ESSER monies tied to the pandemic, funds that buoyed school district finances through coronavirus turbulence. view article

The Amarillo ISD school board met today to address budget deficits and the decline in enrollment numbers for some schools. view article

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - A special meeting of the Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees was held today to discuss the district’s declining enrollment. This year, the district has under 29,000 students. In 2016, that number was 34,000. “It is happening in a lot of places across the state as populations shift and as the birth rate declines. And that kind of thing is if you look at the Potter County demographic, you’ll see that only my age of people are growing and we don’t have little children anymore. The younger populations are shrinking in Potter County and that’s why we see less school aged children,” said Doyle Corder, president, Amarillo ISD school board. In an unanimous vote, the school board passed a motion giving Amarillo ISD’s Superintendent Doug Loomis some direction. view article

In a Tuesday morning press conference, state-appointed superintendent Mike Miles vowed to address systemic inefficiencies across Houston ISD. For the first time since the summer, he also addressed overstated cuts to the Central Office. view article

Fort Worth ISD is coping with budget constraints and declining enrollment. The district is looking for qualified teachers while cutting some non-teaching positions. For the past 13 years, the number of Fort Worth ISD students has been decreasing. However, a higher percentage of the district’s students are from disadvantaged communities and struggling families. view article

Superintendent Angélica Ramsey said only non-instructional staff will be affected by the cuts. As school districts brace for budget cuts, Fort Worth Independent School District is planning to reduce spending by cutting staff. As reported by The Dallas Express, Fort Worth ISD’s Superintendent Angélica Ramsey sent out an email to staff and parents sharing that some employees would be let go, citing a $43.6 million budget shortfall. Reportedly, the staff cuts will allow programs and resources that boost student achievement results to remain in place. view article

As the district begins the process of creating its budget for the upcoming school year, RRISD Chief Financial Officer Dennis Covington shared that there are multiple factors impacting decision-making, such as lowered enrollment resulting in reduced revenue and continued lowering of the maximum tax rate the district is allowed to set by the state of Texas, as well as growth of charter school enrollment and home-schooling. The latter, he said, will be shown in an upcoming demographic update. These considerations, in addition to others presented to the district's board of trustees, may result in the following actions being taken to reduce the district's budget for the 2024-25 school year: view article

It’s a pattern seen among nearly all Houston-area school districts burdened by major budget shortfalls, which leaders have attributed to state lawmakers who failed to pass public school funding packages that would’ve increased the state’s monetary dedication to Texas school districts. view article

This year marks the fifth year the Tyler Area Regional Career Pathway Network has applied for and received the TEA Perkins Reserve Grant to go toward manufacturing and health science programs for five school districts. The network includes Hawkins ISD, Winona ISD, Whitehouse ISD, Chapel Hill ISD, Tyler ISD, Tyler Junior College, Hood Packaging Corporation, and CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System. view article

Cy-Fair ISD officials reported a shortfall of over $73.6 million in a presentation on the district's 2023-24 budget Feb. 12. The video above is from ABC13's 24/7 livestream. The update was given by CFISD Chief Financial Officer Karen Smith, who said inflation rates increased by 19% from September 2019 to August 2023. In addition, Smith pointed to a continued lack of adequate funding from the state and said as local property values increase, state funding decreases. view article

ODESSA — Texas has awarded $125 million in grants to rural sheriffs and prosecutors across the state, the Texas Comptroller said in a statement last week — an effort to help those law enforcement agencies attract and keep talent in their communities. The pool of money was established by state lawmakers last year in Senate Bill 22, which passed with bipartisan support. The legislation, authored by state Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, totaled $330 million and established grants for increasing minimum salaries and additional equipment. Rural law enforcement can apply for the grant again in 2025, which the comptroller will issue using the remaining money. view article

Families in the Spring Branch Independent School District will be dealing with more budget cuts in their children’s schools as the district moves into the 2024-2025 school year. In a message sent out Friday afternoon by Superintendent Jennifer Blaine, the district said it was forced to take these actions after the 88th Legislative Session and four special sessions of the Texas Legislature concluded without the educational funding challenges of Texas public school districts being addressed. view article

In the face of declining enrollment and projected budget shortfalls, the Fort Worth Independent School District plans to cut staff. Superintendent Angelica Ramsey posted the announcement online Monday. "This year, due to continued projections of declining enrollment, coupled with legislative inaction on public school financing, the sunsetting of ESSER funds, fewer federal dollars, and a projected budget deficit, it has become necessary for us to make additional reductions both in budgets and staff," Ramsey wrote. view article

Texas public schools rank 41st in per-student funding, and that may not improve anytime soon. A large education funding package failed in the legislature last year, and Gov. Greg Abbott has said he won't get onboard unless lawmakers also agree to voucher programs that can be used to subsidize students' private education. As a result, Eli Melendrez - government relations associate with the American Federation of Teachers in Texas - said public school district improvements and teacher pay raises fell by the wayside. "You can see it on the ground, you can see it as a teacher looking at your paycheck, you can see as a parent of a student in the public school system," said Melendrez, "that funding is not adequate." The state provides school districts with a base level of funding that is just over $6,000 annually per student - a funding level that hasn't increased since 2019. view article

School districts feel pain of political debate over diverting public dollars to private schools  In Fort Worth, it’s pink slips for staff. In Irving, they’re shutting down a school. Librarians in Keller ISD will have to split time between multiple campuses, even affluent Carroll ISD in Southlake says they’re facing a substantial loss. Public school districts in North Texas saying they can’t pay their bills with the amount of money they’re getting from the state of Texas.  "Well, I never liked to be told I told you so. So I'm not going to do and I told you," said Stephanie Elizalde, Superintendent, Dallas ISD But she did tell us, all last year, that the money wasn’t enough to keep up with inflation, wasn’t enough to handle all the mandates schools are being forced to pull off.  "We certainly saw this coming. We were reading the tea leaves. And so we started to make cuts in advance," she said. view article

DALLAS — For school districts across North Texas, the math isn't adding up -- and budgets are falling short.  Fort Worth ISD announced it will lay off some staff members, Dallas ISD said it will cut duplicate and under-enrolled programs, Richardson ISD is facing a "significant deficit" and Plano ISD has formed a committee to examine whether it needs to close some schools.  view article

The McAllen ISD school board held its first workshop for the 2024-25 budget Monday with board members asking questions about an expected deficit while expressing their opinions on possible solutions to help mitigate it. The first workshop covered the overall broad areas in the budget such as student enrollment trends, ESSER II and III funds, the general fund balance, budget requirements, tax rate history, a historical personnel report, staffing guidelines, compensation plans and other cost saving options. view article

The Texas Education Agency approved a 50% tuition rate increase for Carroll ISD's Pre-K curriculum for 3-year-olds after a week of uncertainty about whether the program would stay afloat. At a Feb. 5 meeting, district officials proposed eliminating Pre-K 3 and creating co-teaching teams that would serve special education for both 3 and 4-year-olds. view article

The Lufkin ISD school board held a workshop on Tuesday to discuss compensation for employees who missed work due to the weather closure on Jan. 16. Lufkin ISD Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services Daniel Spikes said all employees will receive payment for the Jan. 16 school closure. view article

Fort Worth ISD announced it will lay off staff members amid a budget crunch. For school districts across North Texas, the math isn't adding up -- and budgets are falling short. Fort Worth ISD announced it will lay off some staff members, Dallas ISD said it will cut duplicate and under-enrolled programs, Richardson ISD is facing a "significant deficit" and Plano ISD has formed a committee to examine whether it needs to close some schools.  "It's definitely at what I would say is at a crisis moment," said Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde. "I definitely think that all of our school districts are in similar situations financially."  view article

More cuts are coming to Fort Worth ISD. In an email to staff Feb. 12, Superintendent Angélica Ramsey informed district employees that they should expect cuts to the budget and staffing. Affected employees would be notified no later than Friday, she said. “It is with a heavy heart that we make these decisions, and we are doing so as early as possible to provide ample time for affected employees to explore alternative opportunities,” Ramsey said. view article

Fort Worth ISD will reduce budgets and cut staff as the district deals with several challenges. District Superintendent Dr. Angelica M. Ramsey cited an expected decline in enrollment, the failure of the Texas Legislature to increase public school funding, fewer federal dollars, and a projected budget deficit among the reasons behind the cuts. view article

Fort Bend ISD trustees heard a report Feb. 5 from district officials outlining a projected $132.6 million shortfall in its bond budget passed in the May 2023 election, estimating the projects could run about 11.8% over budget. Voters approved the district’s $1.26 billion bond package that included the $1.18 billion Proposition A, which provided funds for construction, security and other projects. However, preliminary construction costs are now outdated due to inflation and material and labor costs, district officials said at the Feb. 5 board workshop meeting. District officials have identified factors causing the shortfall and made plans to shore up the shortage, which will include monthly board updates. view article

Trustees at Keller Independent School District say they will be focusing the month of February on a new budget to dig the district out of a $28 million shortfall. Although the district is blaming the legislature for inadequate funding, Texas lawmakers allocated over $93.6 billion for government education in 2023, including several billion in new funding. However, during the board’s January 25 meeting, Keller ISD Superintendent Tracy Johnson said the legislature is not providing increased funding to fix the district’s budget deficit problem. “Our state could fix this problem today. They could call a fifth special session,” said Johnson. “But there is no talk, no hope of a fifth special session. So we’re gonna have to solve this problem ourselves.” view article

For most of the 2023 legislative year, public school advocates pushed for a $1,000 per-student increase in state funding, insisting the money was necessary to keep up with school districts’ rising costs. Teachers rallied at the Capitol, demanding more money for classrooms, salaries and student needs. In ongoing dissonance, Gov. Greg Abbott also spent the year praising the Legislature for investing in schools. The governor has said the Legislature can and has invested in public schools while at the same time supporting school choice, a controversial proposal that uses public money to pay for children’s private school tuition. view article

Thanks to the standoff at the Legislature between vouchers and school funding, and multiple related factors, the Brownsville Independent School District faces a best-case scenario $16 million deficit even before it begins drafting next year’s budget. The actual number depends on how much of the district’s $116 million fund balance the BISD Board of Trustees will allow interim Superintendent Jesus M. Chavez and his administration to use to craft the district’s 2024-2025 budget, and how many efficiencies the district can find. “The other part that makes it more complex for us is because of the property value study that the state does,” Chavez said in an interview earlier this week. “They randomly select areas, they don’t do the whole state. Cameron County was selected. The property values that came out were way higher than our local values. What the state tells you is, well, you should have corrected this much in local dollars, but because your appraisal value was lower, you didn’t correct that, but we’re not going to correct that. We’re taking away those dollars from you that you thought you were going to get,” he said. view article

The Canutillo Independent School District is making budget cuts, including layoffs, to address a nearly $6 million deficit caused in part because of the board’s decision to approve a budget that relied on hopes of an increase in state funding that never came. The layoffs, announced in mid-January, include eliminating 13 positions, five of which were vacant. The cuts saved the district $300,000, officials said. view article

Principal Katy Myers listened to the sounds of learning as she walked the hallways of Rufino Mendoza Elementary. In one classroom, students rolled dice and used small dry erase boards to practice subtraction. Down the hall, students performed jumping jacks to the beat of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” in the gym. Downstairs, students wrote a song based on a poem they just read. Welcome to Saturday school, a learning loss recovery program that Fort Worth ISD funded using $407.4 million in federal pandemic relief funds. Myers recently pulled academic progress data for the 63 students who attend Saturday classes, and children who attended most sessions are on track to meet their end-of-year growth goals, Myers said. “I know what we’re doing is working,” the principal said. view article

There’s a war underway for control of Texas public education. The war is being waged by Gov. Greg Abbott, and by his appointed head of the Texas Education Agency, Mike Morath. That battle is aimed at undermining a bedrock principle of democracy — that effective, well-funded public education is vital to a strong state and country. To participate effectively in a democracy, the public must have the intellectual tools to do so. For several generations, public education has provided those tools. Whatever you hear about the state’s new high school rating system, the heart of the matter is whether this state truly believes in public education or not. view article