Fort Worth ISD approves ‘milestone’ budget with millions going toward staff pay raises
Fort Worth school district trustees adopted a balanced budget for the first time in at least seven years, according to district officials.
The school board on Tuesday approved a general fund budget of $844.2 million, which will be the same amount the district is estimated to spend for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
A major component of the budget includes $17.7 million dedicated to pay increases to all district employees.
The board approved the budget in a 8-1 vote, with board member Kevin Lynch dissenting, after asking CFO Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria various technical questions on the changes compared to the 2023-24 budget, which is projected to close with a $42.7 million deficit, records show. No community members weighed in on the topic during public comment.
The board also passed a $168.5 million debt service budget and $47.8 million food service budget. The fiscal year begins July 1.
At a budget workshop on May 14, Board President Camille Rodriguez called this year’s budget “a milestone” while criticizing the state legislature for its lack of providing additional funding to school districts.
“With the inaction of our state legislature, I do not see any relief coming any time soon. I know the administration has worked tirelessly to minimize the impact of budget constraints. When I joined this board, we had an unbalanced budget…. thank you Ms. Arrieta-Candelaria for bringing forward a balanced budget.”
The pay raises for district employees will be 2% and will be funded through reserve money. Arrieta-Candelaria cautioned the board last month that the compensation package would have to be accounted for in the 2025-26 budget while the district’s enrollment trends are decreasing — a notable financial factor.
Most of the general fund budget, 82%, will go toward payroll costs.
“I feel comfortable that we could absorb the compensation package within our current reserves, but keep in mind please that next year, it’s going to add to the budget,” she said. “We continue to hope that the state would increase our basic allotment… I understand hope is not a strategy, but we certainly hope that the state will come forward and certainly fund our school district because, again, we have not had an increase in the basic allotment since 2019.”
Board member Tobi Jackson asked staff and administration about the possibility of creating 3-to-5-year budget projections amid unpredictability in state funding in addition to state and local homestead exemptions.
Superintendent Angélica Ramsey said the pending study of district facilities is a way Fort Worth ISD is analyzing its operating costs.The study is expected to result in school closures intended to provide financial savings to the district.
“Dr. Ramsey has also challenged us to come up with a 3-to-5 year plan, which has always been our goal,” Arrieta-Candelaria said. “I think one of the first goals that we had was to get to a balanced budget. I think that was something that was key to laying that foundation. And then the next piece that we have, of course, is the capital plan and the enrollment recalculations that we have, that we will utilize into our model.”
Moving forward, the school board is scheduled to adopt a tax rate on Aug. 27. During a May budget discussion, district staff proposed keeping the tax rate for 2024-25 the same as last year at $1.0624 (per $100 valuation) when looking at preliminary property values.
