School finance bill helps Edinburg school district avoid $6M deficit

Prior to additional funding to public schools by the Texas Legislature, Edinburg CISD was looking at a deficit.

With the passage of the school finance bill, the district is now projected to have a balanced 2025-2026 school budget with the board considering pay raises in the district.

“Going into this year, we were expecting, if nothing happened with House Bill 2, … to start off with a $6 million deficit,” ECISD Chief of Finance and Operations Adel Felix said. “That was our projected deficit going into next year with our current plans, current compensation plan and so forth. … We had bigger hopes.”

Felix said the district was expecting larger basic allotments, more for inflation costs, and more for the cost of goods.

House Bill 2, or HB 2, provides $8.5 billion to Texas school districts. The legislation includes additional funding for teachers, support staff, an increase to the basic allotment of students, by $55, and operational costs, special education, childhood programs and school safety.

Felix said the district’s budget is projected to be balanced with revenue and expenses to be around $470 million, pending a compensation and healthcare plan.

Unlike most school districts, Edinburg CISD is holding steady with its enrollment. Felix said the district is projecting around 33,000 students. She also added that the district is targeting an average daily attendance of 30,000 but is estimating around 29,600.

“The district is expected to have an increase (of) about $20 million, however, most of it is restricted for teachers’ salary increase as well staff raises,” she said.

In districts with more than 5,000 students, teachers with three to four years of experience will receive $2,500, while those with five or more years will receive $5,000.

In a board workshop Tuesday, Felix gave the trustees and the public a budget update.

The presentation also gave the board and the public two different pay raise scenarios projecting what a 1% and 2% raise would look like.

Other fund balance considerations listed in the presentation are the Edinburg North drainage project, to cost $1.3 million, and the potential increase of $1.4 million to the health insurance fund.

Several different school district programs also received an increase in funding.

Early education increased about $547,000, special education gained about $200,000 and the district also received close to $1 million for school safety.

“Our district has always provided officers at our campuses, and that’s really the intent of this, and now they’re just helping us fund what we’ve had,” Felix said.

The school board will vote to approve the budget by Aug. 31.