As bills to increase public school funding statewide are still making their way through the Texas Legislature, districts like Dallas are looking for ways to dig themselves out of a financial hole.
During a Dallas school board briefing Thursday, Chief Financial Officer Eduardo Ramos told trustees he expects the of $187 million to shrink to $104 million by September.
鈥淲e have made some great strides in reducing the overall deficit by close to 83 million dollars,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e're headed in the right direction.鈥�
It鈥檚 not been easy: The district cut 86 positions as well as millions of dollars in office supplies and services from contractors. As deficits have grown, so have property values and property taxes, which fund schools.
State law requires property wealthy districts, Dallas included, to send some of its property tax money to Austin, for redistribution to property poor districts. This system, known as Robin Hood, or recapture, is meant to equitably fund education statewide.
It鈥檚 rubbed some school board members the wrong way, including trustee Camille White. Dallas will send $104 million back to Austin this year 鈥� $44 more million than last year. It鈥檚 contributing to the district鈥檚 deficit.
鈥淎 lot of our school districts are considered wealthy and we're sending money back to the state. But a lot of us need that recapture money to help our own students, she said. 鈥淭he Robin Hood, aka recapture, they鈥檙e actually robbing the hood.鈥�
Despite the deficit, next year鈥檚 budget includes raises for all employees, from teachers and cafeteria workers to custodians and bus drivers. Raises will range from 2.2% to 3.6%.
Dallas ISD will pass its proposed budget later this month.
Now administrators and trustees wait for lawmakers to finalize their budgets. House Bill 2 could bring more than $7.5 billion to districts and raise per-student allotments. Another bill will hike teacher salaries, and yet another could affect debt and taxes.
Bill Zeeble is 四虎影院鈥檚 education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X .
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