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 baseline under current law shows a potential shortfall relative to that target that would require using the instructional-continuity reserve and additional reductions to avoid dangerously low balances in fiscal year 2026–27. A trustee asked whether the gap equated to about $64 million; staff confirmed the order of magnitude and added that the district is projecting additional use of instructional-continuity funds (roughly $50.4 million next year in the scenario shown).

On staffing, the district presented a set of staffing “glide-path” charts showing reductions in general‑fund FTEs under the plan the board is considering. Staff said that recent increases (2023–24 to 2024–25) included: opening Chumley Elementary School (added administrators, librarian, nurse and instructional aides); moving some positions from ESSER (federal) funds into the general fund; and Pre-K and STEM expansions. Staff said they are not imposing a hiring freeze on classroom vacancies; instead a hiring review had been applied to some administrative positions while teacher and critical certified positions (notably special education and bilingual) continue to be hired if certified applicants are available. The district said it has been “hovering in and around a hundred” special-education vacancies and urged filling certified applicants immediately.

Trustees and staff discussed program impacts and the process for campus-level decisions. Dr. Kraft emphasized that program and placement decisions are made at the campus level and are driven by enrollment, personnel allocations and ARD/IEP requirements. She also stated that the district is not proposing any campus closures or consolidations for the coming school year; staff said consolidation conversations would begin in the fall if enrollment and cost-savings warrant further analysis.

Public comment addressed the effects of staffing decisions on fine arts and elective programs. Angelica Guerra de Calvillo, an orchestra teacher at Rotter Middle School, said orchestras and other electives provide essential access to music education for many students and asked the district for “clear verbiage to principals” to avoid unexpected half-time splits that she said had blindsided other campuses. The superintendent and trustees discussed publishing staffing slides and budget information on the district website to provide transparency for principals, staff and families.

District staff said the next steps include continuing to refine budget scenarios, presenting compensation scenarios at the finance meeting on the 20th, and returning to the board with recommended compensation and budget actions in late June or July depending on legislative timing.

Distinctions in this discussion: staff presented management options and projections (discussion), clarified district hiring and program rules (directions), and did not present a formal board action on compensation or closures (no formal decision).