Splendora ISD officials have approved raises for teachers and staff despite a $3.1 million budget deficit for 2023-24.
The $70.7 million budget was adopted during the district’s June 19 meeting, as the district’s fiscal year started July 1.
On YourCourierNews.com: Houston-area school districts see rising disaster insurance costs, another funding test to juggle
Teachers, librarians and nurses are expected to receive a 3 percent average pay increase, which equates to a $1,850 raise each, said Kevin Lynch, the district’s chief financial officer. The rest of staff are expected to receive a 3 percent raise of the midpoint pay grade, he said.Â
Splendora ISD has about 5,000 students and is expected to grow another 600 to 700 students by next budget cycle, Lynch said. Which is why district officials focused on recruitment and retention as one of the main goals for the budget, he said.Â
“Our board was committed to two phase(s),” Lynch said, noting the first phase was taking a chance that the state Legislature would approve more funding during a special session. “That’s still up-in-the-air. But, more importantly, they felt that it was important to dedicate fund balance resources should they need this one time to stay competitive against our local market.”Â
The district’s competitors for staff are Conroe ISD, New Caney ISD and Humble ISD, he said.Â
On YourCourierNews.com: New Caney teen dubbed ‘The Garbage Kid’ went from scrolling TikTok to launching a business
Officials hope for more funding from the state. After a five-month regular legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott has called lawmakers back to Austin for two special sessions aimed at utilizing $12 billion for proposed property tax cuts.Â
After months of clashing over the specifics of an $18 billion package to cut property taxes, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan announced Monday they reached an agreement.
Still up for debate is a provision to bump teacher pay. While considering property tax legislation late last month, the Texas Senate adopted an amendment that would offer urban teachers an extra $2,000 and rural teachers an additional $6,000. But that language was not included in the Monday deal.
“Due to (the state’s) debate in the House and Senate, decisions to be made on education initiatives, they’re basically holding education funding hostage at the moment,” Lynch said. “We have to approve a budget in June. And we feel like, pending results of the legislative process, we’re going to have to go back and amend this budget once they finalize the state’s budget and any other legislation that comes out of special session.”Â
Every legislative session, there are estimations made for school districts that have a fiscal year that starts in July, where adjustments are made to their budget. However, this summer’s debate between the House and Senate has made it much harder, he said.
At the end of the day, the district is “in the people business,” said Splendora ISD Superintendent Jeff Burke, noting that 85 percent of the budget goes toward staff.
“We know that Houston is one of the most, if not the most competitive market in the state for teachers,” he said. “We’re all competing for them…we’re the smallest district in Montgomery County, surrounded by Conroe (ISD) and New Caney (ISD), who have much bigger budgets.”
Other Montgomery County school districts have noted a possibility for more funding from the state, referencing the historic $33 billion surplus.Â
“We’re not surprised this is where we are,” Burke said. “But we hope that through our conservative budget management historically, our growth and then eventually the state will do something. We just don’t know when that’s going to happen. But we’re going to be ok.”