Northside ISD updates trustees on fund balance, staffing plans amid pending House Bill 2

Superintendent Dr. Kraft and district finance staff briefed the Northside ISD Board of Trustees on projected fund balances, planned staffing adjustments and the district’s budget glide path as the legislature moves toward final action on school finance bills.

District staff described three budget drivers: projected student enrollment, the district’s instructional-continuity reserve (set aside in prior years) and uncertainty about the ultimate shape of House Bill 2 and related legislation. Staff said they are modeling multiple compensation and revenue scenarios but that any recommendation on a general pay increase will be contingent on House Bill 2 surviving the Senate and being signed by the governor.

On fund balance, staff showed the board that Northside sets aside an “unassigned” reserve equal to three months of operating expenditures as a cash-flow and credit-quality safeguard. Staff said the three-month target is roughly $270 million; the district’s modeled…