A man from Orange pleaded guilty to and was sentenced for stealing from Trinidad Independent School District. Brandon Looney, 39, of Orange, pleaded guilty to theft from a program receiving federal funds and was sentenced to two years in federal prison on Thursday by Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle. view article

Midland ISD will “collapse” a second round of positions at the end of the 2024-25 school year, which includes 28 positions that are central office based. MISD is operating this year under a $41.1 million budget deficit because of the expiration of the state FTG program, which had given MISD tens of millions of dollars annually since 2019. The FTG was set to expire this year, and it was not renewed in the previous legislative session. view article

As school districts across Central Texas begin drafting budgets for the upcoming year, parents in Leander ISD worry about the possibility of school closures. The idea surfaced during recent school board meetings, as trustees seek ways to address Leander ISD's financial challenges. In February, Leander ISD announced a $34 million budget deficit. Since then, district leaders have taken steps to reduce costs, including cutting approximately 200 jobs and ending the International Baccalaureate program. Still, parents worry about what further budget cuts could mean for the district's schools. view article

Texas Senators passed legislation ending “shared governance” with university faculty senates in Texas’ public higher education institutions on Wednesday. In state universities, “shared governance” is a term where the boards of regents of universities share power with the faculty, who are represented by a faculty senate—or, in the case of the University of Texas-Austin, the faculty council. Regents are accountable to Texans through the governor’s office and the state senate. Members of the faculty senate enjoy no such accountability. State Sen. Brandon Creighton’s (R-Conroe) proposed measure defines the role of faculty senates as advisory only.  view article

Trustees for the San Antonio Independent School District voted Monday evening to give a 4% raise to full-time hourly staff and a 3% raise to teachers and other salaried employees. The raise will boost starting pay for full-time hourly staff to $17 an hour and the starting pay for teachers to $60,000. It also boosts the pay grades for head custodians and some instructional assistants, including assistants who work with special education students that need behavior support. view article

Leander ISD’s projected budget shortfall for fiscal year 2024-25 increased to about $27.3 million in March. “Last month, we were looking at probably ending the fiscal year at about $26.2 million [in] expenditures exceeding revenues. We have updated this information to show it’s about $27.3 [million],” LISD Chief Financial Officer Peter Pape said at the district’s March 27 board of trustees meeting.  What’s going on? A range of variables can affect expenditures and revenues in the budget each month. Pape emphasized that this increase was being conveyed as an update, and it is liable to change moving forward. He said the projections get more and more accurate as the budget cycle progresses view article

While Washington, D.C., is awash with chaos and mass confusion over Trump administration policies gutting the federal government, our state Legislature in Austin is full speed ahead in passing perhaps the biggest boondoggle in Texas history.  I’m referring to school voucher plans that will pump billions of dollars into private education but won’t have a fraction of the promised benefits that Republicans are arguing to pass these bills.  Gov. Greg Abbott is calling the House bills on vouchers the “Texas Two-Step,” which Texas Democrats call a clever marketing label. Here’s what the party is saying about these measures: view article

Judson ISD officials discussed proposed budget cuts with community members in a town hall Thursday evening. This is the second meeting held to find solutions to chip away at a nearly $50 million deficit. After hours of back-and-forth conversation at Thursday night's meeting, there wont be an easy fix. District trustees wrote out a list, showing what meeting attendees want to see stay, or go. One item on that list has been on the minds of districts across Texas: school closures. view article

The lives of some Socorro and Canutillo independent school district employees were upended late last week as they received a piece of paper informing them that their contracts would not be renewed after the end of the school year. Some of those employees who have been laid off include middle and elementary school music teachers from Socorro ISD and registered nurses from Canutillo ISD. Several SISD employees who received the notices Friday declined to comment at this time, saying they were going to first consult with their teacher unions. view article

Voices of concern echoed outside the Northside Independent School District's activity center on Tuesday as students and alumni gathered to protest potential cuts to school programs, including choir. The demonstration aimed to raise awareness about how these cuts could impact educational offerings. Michaela Alvarado, a music education student at Northwest Vista Community College highlighted the schools affected, saying, "Holmes High School, Connally Middle School, Rayburn Middle School, Pat Neff Middle School and Sul Ross Middle School. Those were some of them were full time positions or half time positions." view article

As they cut Austin ISD’s budget over the last two years, district leaders stressed again and again that they wanted to avoid cuts that would affect classrooms – those that would eliminate teachers and increase class sizes. But the budget crisis has proven too deep and wide. A year ago, the budget deficit was $60 million. After repeated cuts and an infusion of new tax dollars, it now sits at $110 million. So last week, district leaders announced they are examining cuts that would not only affect, but eliminate, classrooms. They are considering closing and consolidating schools. view article

The Socorro Independent School District (SISD) is implementing a resignation incentive program as part of its strategy to address a $38 million budget deficit. The initiative, approved unanimously by the SISD board, targets 100 employees nearing retirement, offering them $2,500 to resign. However, only about 50 employees have opted in ahead of the April 7 deadline. view article

The Socorro Independent School District will cut staff to deal with its budget deficit, its interim superintendent said in a letter sent out to staff on Friday, Feb. 14. How deep those cuts may go have not been determined yet. KTSM verified through several different sources that the letter is valid and was sent out Friday afternoon as staff were leaving school. view article

“Uncertain” was one of the words used by Bryan ISD leadership to describe the 2025-2026 school year budget development process at its board meeting on Monday. With pending legislation at the state level and the future of the Department of Education in question, district leaders said this has made it challenging to build a financial plan. view article

As school districts look at their budgets for future decisions, Round Rock ISD is bracing for the worst. Superintendent Dr. Hafedh Azaiez says Round Rock ISD's worst-case scenario is a potential $16 million deficit for the 2025-26 school year. While there are still a lot of unknowns, Azaiez said the district does not want staff to lose their jobs. Still, budget measures will need to be taken. view article

The board of trustees for the San Antonio Independent School District voted on Monday to eliminate at least 32 positions at the end of the school year. The roles being eliminated are concentrated in the district’s central office. Most of the affected employees are tasked with writing curriculum. Deputy Superintendent Shawn Bird told trustees the district no longer needs employees to write curriculum because the district plans to use instructional materials approved by the state. view article

In the district’s special meeting Monday morning, Superintendent Dr. James Hockenberry submitted his recommended list of employment areas to be affected by a reduction in force of employment contracts or positions based upon the determination of a program change. The reduction could include some members of staff in the following positions as approved by the board: view article

A former Valentine ISD employee was sentenced in a federal court in Pecos to 27 months in prison for wire fraud and theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. Below is a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Texas: view article

Goliad ISD is among school districts nationwide expressing concern over recent federal budget cuts targeting education and nutrition programs. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has implemented significant reductions affecting both the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), prompting districts to reassess their budgets and program offerings.​ view article

The Lufkin ISD board is considering the non-renewal of employee contracts in the wake of campus closures. Almost a month after the Lufkin ISD School Board voted to close Coston Elementary and Kurth Primary School, board members are back in session, with another tough decision to make. “It’s scary for people because you don’t know am I going to be affected, is somebody that I care about going to be affected,” said LISD Board President, Kristi Gay. 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