GCISD board hears funding shortfall risk as Legislature pares down school-finance proposal

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD trustees were briefed on May 19 about the potential impact of state school finance proposals and the district's draft 2025—26 budget as lawmakers considered a smaller funding package than the House passed.

Doctor Schnauz, the district superintendent, said the engrossed House Bill 2 would have increased the basic allotment by $395 and would have allowed GCISD to "realize a little under $7,000,000 in additional funding," while a committee substitute in the Senate reduced that increase to about $55 on the basic allotment.

The difference matters, Schnauz said, because the House version gave districts discretionary dollars that could be used across the employee base. "The committee substitute bill as it's written does not allow for that," he said, adding that the substitute concentrates most dollars for classroom teachers and excludes many other district employees.

David Johnson, GCISD chief financial officer, said recent modeling shows the district might receive roughly $6 million tied to teacher compensation in the current proposals, but that benefit will be partially offset by employer costs for benefits. "Benefits that we write checks for equate to about 10%," Johnson said, noting Medicare, health insurance and TRS contributions add to costs and reduce net operating dollars.

Johnson told trustees the district's preliminary taxable value estimate is about $21.3 billion but that proposed statewide increases in homestead exemptions and an assumed 4% protest loss would cut that base. He said pending measures referenced in committee work'Senate Bill 4 and Senate Bill 23'could reduce the local tax base by roughly 4.5% and that historical state "hold harmless" adjustments have offset such losses in prior cycles but are not guaranteed.

Board members pressed for clarity on the mechanics. Trustee Matthew Faust walked trustees through differences in the two proposals, noting the committee substitute ties teacher pay raises to experience tiers and to district size thresholds such as 5,000 students. Faust said the local effect could be that GCISD teachers receive smaller increases than in smaller districts under the substitute.

Johnson said the district has applied a 1.5% underspend allowance in payroll forecasts and expects to present finalized budget figures at the June 16 public hearing. He said the district's 0-based budgeting and position-control revisions had narrowed an earlier projected shortfall to roughly $1.3 million pending final legislative outcomes.

Schnauz urged the community to contact state senators on the education committee and cited Sen. Tan Parker by name as receptive to feedback; trustees and staff encouraged families and employees to register concerns while the bills remain under consideration.

No formal board action was taken on the budget at the May 19 meeting; the update was informational and the district will return with proposed budget documents in June.