Megan Navarro
DRIPPING SPRINGS — At its June 23 meeting, the Dripping Springs ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved its fiscal year 2025-26 budget, but it could look different in August after amendments are made, due to legislation changes.
Highlights from the budget include: the general fund sits at $104,194,010 in total expenses, with a net deficit of $2,892,939, a change from the original $3,068,939, due to transfers in and out; debt service is at $18,453,888 in total expenses, with a $1,641,421 deficit; and child nutrition is at $5,292,523 in total expenses, with a $636,823 deficit.
This budget is being impacted by the 89th legislature with the basic allotment, which is how much state funding school districts receive per student, being increased by $55. This is the first time that the basic allotment is being changed since 2019, said deputy superintendent Elaine Cogburn. The school safety allotment also went up from $15 to $20 per average daily attendance (ADA) and $33,540 per campus.
There are also two new allotments:
Basic costs (known as ABC) at $106 per enrollment: To be used for utilities, property insurance, payroll taxes, employee benefits and transportation
Auxiliary pay at $45 per ADA: To be used for support staff, including counselors, nurses, librarians, teaching assistant, custodians, food service staff, bus drivers, administrative assistants and other support staff, but not including administrative staff
Within the legislative changes, the big impact is with teacher pay increases. This is for teacher retention allotment and for Dripping Springs ISD’s district size, this equates to $2,500 per teacher for teachers with three or four years of experience and $5,000 per teacher for teachers with five or more years of experience, Cogburn said.
“This is replacing the 1% pay raise that we initially started developing the budget with. If you look at our current pay scale, this results in about a 6-8% pay increase, depending on where they were on the pay scale,” Cogburn explained.
Because the teacher pay increase within the legislative changes only accounts for those with at least three years of experience, Cogburn said the questions that are left are what the district does to provide for teachers with zero to two years of experience, how to allocate the $45 allotment and what kind of increase to give to other positions.
“Administrators were completely left out of any of these allotments. We did learn today that principals and assistant principals are considered administrators, so we know we want to honor our campus administrators, so that’s what we will be working through,” the deputy superintendent said. “How do we marry all of these new allotments and any additional funding with pay increases for all employees? We will be working on that through this summer to incorporate these provisions.”
Trustee Olivia Barnard asked if DSISD will have more money to work with, since the money that the district will get through state-approved funds for teacher pay, along with what it will use for non-identified employees, is “new revenue.”
“It’s really not new revenue. It’s a pass-through. So, I am going to get $2,500 or $5,000 from the state for every classroom teacher. That money goes straight to those teachers,” Cogburn clarified. “What is not funded are the additional payroll benefits on that increase. So, we know our [Texas Retirement System] will go up. We know our workers comp will go up. Our unemployment will go up because our total payroll cost is going up. That allotment for teacher pay increases is really just a pass-through.”
Teachers receive their first paycheck in September, so the district expects to have all of the amendments figured out by that time. The budget will be amended in August 2025 to incorporate the House Bill 2 pay increases passed by the 89th legislature; additionally, the tax rate is anticipated to be adopted in September, as the Texas Education Agency certifies the maximum compressed rate in August.
“The budget that’s being approved this evening is based on old law. It does not incorporate these changes and so, if employees are out there looking for a compensation plan or what the raise is, stay tuned,” Cogburn said. “There’s more to come, but that is not happening this evening … We are not finished.”
To listen to the full public hearing on the budget from June 23, visit www.dsisdtx.us/page/board-meeting-livestream.
