Lago Vista Independent School District passed its updated version of the House Bill 2 bill, which was signed into law by the governor. HB2, which the 89th Texas Legislature passed, aims to support Texas public schools by providing additional funding and resources. view article

The era of massive state budget surpluses in Texas could be coming to an end.  As the last of the federal government’s COVID-19 emergency funds are spent and sales tax revenues return to historic averages after a large spike, budget analysts say state lawmakers will have far less wiggle room when it comes to funding their spending priorities.    “I don’t think we’re in any kind of crisis, but I think the days of big budget surpluses are probably over,” said Bill King, a fellow in public finance for Rice University’s Baker Institute of Public Policy. “We’re going to be very careful how we spend money.”  In addition to federal pandemic aid, sales tax revenues from inflation and a post-lockdown economic rebound led to state budget surpluses. Texas lawmakers leaned on a $33 billion surplus in 2023 to pay for an $18 billion property tax-cut package, a $5 billion infusion for the new Texas Energy Fund and a host of infrastructure projects. Lawmakers entered this year’s legislative session with a $24 billion surplus, which helped to maintain previous tax-cuts; upgrade energy, water and broadband infrastructure; and cover other new spending items in the upcoming two-year budget cycle. view article

Beaumont ISD unveiled its future budget plans at the most recent school board meeting, and teacher raises figured heavily into the district's plans for the 2025-2026 school year. The district was recognized for its six-year track record of fiscal responsibility heading into the next budget cycle, particularly for having a non-deficit budget, chief financial officer Cheryl Hernandez told the board during her presentation. view article

Raises for most Humble ISD employees will range between 3%-7% in fiscal year 2025-26, HISD Chief Financial Officer Billy Beattie said during a June 17 meeting. Trustees approved HISD's budget and compensation plan for FY 2025-26 during the meeting. According to budget documents, the adopted general fund budget for FY 2025-26 includes $543.6 million in expenses, $543.7 million in revenue and a proposed tax rate of $1.1052 per $100 valuation-the same as FY 2024-25. view article

Veteran teachers in Katy ISD will no longer receive benchmark raises in the 2025-26 school year. Instead, the district will use the funds to provide raises and stipends for new teachers and other employees not covered by the state’s $28.9 million compensation package for the district. view article

The Houston Independent School District has released its 2025–2026 Compensation Plan, outlining changes that will tie teacher pay increases to performance evaluations rather than years of service. The plan continues the district’s ongoing shift toward performance-based compensation and comes as HISD implements broader reforms across the school system. view article

In a budget presentation June 24, the Conroe ISD board of trustees discussed a 2025-26 compensation plan including 6% raises for teachers and staff and a 4% raise for police and other administrative positions. view article

Austin ISD trustees have approved a new budget for the 2025–26 school year, one that still leaves the district tens of millions of dollars in the red. Despite months of cost-cutting, layoffs, and new state funding, the budget closes with a $47.3 million deficit. That includes a $19.7 million shortfall in the district’s general fund, which pays for daily operations like teacher salaries, transportation, and school services. view article

The board of trustees adopted the district’s budget for the 2025-26 school year during a special board meeting June 26 for $413.4 million. Chief Operations Officer John Allison said the budget is required to include a general, debt service and child nutrition fund. view article

The Judson Independent School District board is cutting early childhood education, athletics, staff positions and employee workdays in an effort to offset a historic budget deficit. The board has undergone a dramatic shift since the May 3 election, with the addition of three new trustees who ran campaigns on the need to address the district’s fiscal crisis more aggressively. At the behest of a new majority and its pariah-turned-presiding president, the seven-member board has spent the last month working tirelessly to reduce expenses. view article

The Comal Independent School District board of trustees approved pay increases for all teachers and staff members on Thursday, according to a news release. The raises are part of the district’s $341 million budget for the 2025-26 school year and were made possible by Texas House Bill 2 and the Teacher Retention Allotment (TRA). view article

Teachers and staff across Katy Independent School District will see pay increases in the upcoming school year under a compensation plan approved by the district’s board of trustees. The raises, funded through a mix of local resources and a new state law, aim to boost recruitment and retention across all levels of school staff. view article

Georgetown ISD has adopted a nearly $170.27 million balanced budget for fiscal year 2025-26.The board of trustees approved the district’s FY 2025-25 budget at a June 16 meeting. To avoid facing a budget shortfall, the district made $3.73 million in cuts across campuses and district departments, including athletics and special education.  “The board asked a year ago for what we knew was a tough task: To come to a balanced budget and to make some really hard decisions,” school board President James Scherer said. “The work [district officials] did put us in one of the strongest positions in Central Texas to not only allow us to continue to take care of teachers and staff, but to allow us to keep protecting ... and educating our children.” view article

Cy-Fair ISD is planning to use $45 million of savings to help provide raises and reinstate bus routes for 2025-26, officials said Wednesday.   While leaders expressed gratitude for the increased funding that came with the $8.5 billion the Texas Legislature gave to public schools this year, Superintendent Douglas Killian said it still isn’t enough.  After outcry from the community about busing cuts last summer, the board plans to vote on reinstating routes on Monday night, in addition to routes previously brought back. view article

The El Paso District unveiled the results of a long-awaited equity audit, which many in the community had anticipated before decisions on school closures were made. The audit, presented at the district headquarters, has been a focal point for years, with community members urging for its release before any closures. view article

College Station ISD’s Board of Trustees finalized the district’s 2025-26 school year budget during Tuesday night’s meeting, and the updated financial plan reflects both benefits and challenges for the district and staff. The district implemented a $2.1 million deficit budget for the upcoming school year despite increased state funding. “When you’re going into a deficit, your CFO’s (chief financial officer) going to be extremely concerned. But we’re going to continue to work hard, make sure that we can look for efficiencies, and then try to shave off a little bit more,” advised Heather Wilson, College Station ISD’s CFO. view article

The New Braunfels Independent School District (NBISD) announced that all eligible staff will receive a 2% raise for the 2025-26 school year. This decision follows the Monday, June 17th, Board of Trustees meeting where it received unanimous approval. In addition to the general pay increase, eligible classroom teachers will benefit from the Teacher Retention Allotment, a provision of Texas House Bill 2. view article

Trustees for the North East Independent School District approved a compensation package Monday that largely aligns with the new school funding law House Bill 2. The law gives districts a relatively robust allotment to boost the salaries of experienced classroom teachers, and a smaller allotment for support staff. NEISD leaders told trustees the law's targeted funding limits their ability to give raises to other employees, including counselors, nurses, and librarians. view article

College Station ISD’s Board of Trustees finalized the district’s 2025-26 school year budget during Tuesday night’s meeting, and the updated financial plan reflects both benefits and challenges for the district and staff. The district implemented a $2.1 million deficit budget for the upcoming school year despite increased state funding. “When you’re going into a deficit, your CFO’s going to be extremely concerned, but we’re going to continue to work hard, make sure that we can look for efficiencies and then try to shave off a little bit more,” CSISD Chief Financial Officer Heather Wilson stated. During the meeting, the Board approved a compensation plan in line with recently passed House Bill 2, which ties new state funding directly to classroom teachers. view article

Austin ISD is trying to slash up to $10 million in spending by restructuring its central administrative office. Staff will learn the future of their positions Wednesday. “The process will include eliminating positions, reassignments, new reporting structures and pay scales,” district officials told KUT News in an email. The changes at the central office, which will take effect on Aug. 1, are part of an ongoing effort to reduce Austin ISD’s budget deficit, which currently totals about $93 million. view article

With the regular session of the 89th Texas Legislature over, Tyler ISD is set to implement some changes, among them- pay raises for teachers. During Monday night’s school board meeting, Tyler ISD Superintendent Dr. Marty Crawford outlined how the district will be impacted by HB 2, which provides $8.5 billion for public education funding, including teacher pay raises. He said the certified starting teacher salary for those with one year of experience is expected to increase by $1,500 to $52,000, with salary bumps for educators with more years of experience. view article

Round Rock ISD board members on June 17 adopted a $467.42 million general operating budget for fiscal year 2021-22. The general operating fund budget includes $444.53 million in revenues and $467.42 million in expenses, creating a deficit in this fund of $17.2 million, RRISD Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Adix said. view article

State lawmakers were prepared for a budget crunch, since the COVID-19 pandemic slashed revenues from sales taxes, energy taxes, and other sources. The question they now face is how to close the shortfall without choking off long-term growth.  The answer is far from clear, but it’s certain to involve cuts to popular programs.  In fact, such cuts are what's expected this session. The state comptroller's office says lawmakers need to close a shortfall of nearly $1 billion in revenues. And Republican state Sen. Brandon Creighton of Conroe, who serves on the Senate Finance Committee, noted that Gov. Greg Abbott has asked state agencies to reduce budgets by 5%. view article

Bryan ISD's Board of Trustees have approved a one-time $500 supplement for their salaried employees. Teachers, counselors, librarians, nurses, administrators and professional staff receive their pay bonus on their Dec 15 paycheck. view article

Texas pre-K programs are just scraping by after losing millions of dollars last year — and without sustainable funding, they could see greater problems down the line, school officials say. During the 2017 legislative session, lawmakers decided not to fund a $118 million high-quality pre-K grant program that was created in 2015 and championed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The money had gone to 573 districts and charter schools that pledged to meet measures such as setting a lower student-teacher ratio, avoiding Common Core curricula and reporting student progress to the state. view article

Burnet school district officials were probably expecting to get more than two years from the synthetic turf installed at Bulldog Field in 2015, but that didn’t happen and it’s now set the district back $150,000. Burnet Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Keith McBurnett, however, said the district is looking to get $105,000 back from one manufacturer. Last year, officials noticed some turf fibers sticking up higher than others, so they took a closer look, McBurnett said. “To most people, it probably wasn’t noticeable,” he said. “We had all the experts look at the field, and they looked at the backside. It needed to be replaced.” view article

On Saturday, voters who live within the Houston ISD will go to the polls to determine how - or if - the district will pay the state millions in "recapture" fees. Whatever voters decide on Proposition 1, the Houston ISD will take a financial hit, officials say. Recapture, and school finance, can be difficult to grasp. To help, here are the answers to some questions about the ballot measure. view article

The Round Rock school district awarded $1.9 million in grants to 34 campuses to help foster innovation in schools through programs, models or initiatives that enrich learning. The grants range from $7,500 to $100,000 and support the district’s strategic goal of implementing, enhancing and reinforcing innovative teachings and learning models, according to a district news release. view article

Fort Bend ISD is going to begin serving up something different for some students who continually fail to pay for their lunches -- a cold cheese sandwich with a side of milk, and that's not sitting well with some parents. We're not talking about students who qualify for free school meals. But apparently, these repeat offenders have gotten so "forgetful" that it's draining the district's budget by hundreds of thousands of dollars. view article

The Garland school district’s $453.8 million budget for 2015-16 passed this week. Here are the highlights: Taxes are going up: There’s a 10-cent per $100 valuation tax increase tied to theNovember 2014 passage of a $455 million bond package. Garland ISD previously had the second-lowest tax rate among 16 districts that tax in Dallas County; the bond will bring that closer to the midpoint. view article

The Lampasas Independent School District met Monday to discuss the district’s fiscal year 2016 budget and proposed tax rates. “My idea was still to give everyone a tax break, but to make it 1 cent right now, and we could change it in a year if we need to,” board member Sam Walker said. “I think we are jumping the gun by dropping it 2 cents.” view article

Marfa ISD is taking a proactive approach toward its potential Chapter 41 status, which would classify the district as a “rich” school. Chief Financial Officer Victoria Sanchez discussed with the board of trustees at the June 15 meeting five different options they could possibly choose for the Chapter 41 status and heavily stressed that the board should consider each option carefully as three of them would have permanent repercussions. view article

The Dallas Independent School District presented a draft version of a comprehensive plan for facilities and academic improvement to the board of trustees on Thursday. The long-range plan, which calls for $1.5 billion in funding, would be directed at school choice, pre-k expansion and career readiness, according to DISD officials. view article

Duncanville ISD thought it was getting a great deal when, one year ago this month, it switched electric providers and signed on with the State Power Program through the state's General Land Office. Just like that, Duncanville ISD's price-per-kilowatt hour dropped almost 20 percent, from 7.3 cents to a maximum of 6 cents. view article

The Comal Independent School District is paying off bond debt early in an effort to save taxpayers money. The district's board of trustees voted Thursday night to pay off $6.5 million in bond debt ahead of schedule. view article