District consultant outlines House and Senate school-finance proposals as trustees weigh budget scenarios

A consultant who formerly led school finance at the Texas Education Agency told the Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees about several active state proposals that could change how public schools are funded and how districts budget for teacher pay and special education.

Leo Lopez, identified in the meeting as chief financial officer at consulting firm Moke Casey, summarized House Bill 2 (the House school-finance package), Senate Bill 26 (a teacher pay/retention bill) and other pending measures. Lopez said the House’s introduced version would raise the basic allotment (BA) and make extensive changes to special-education funding and teacher pay rules; he reported the introduced BA in the bill was $6,380 per student with proposals under discussion to increase it further.

Lopez said the House’s proposal as filed included changing a longstanding statute that requires districts to spend a portion of new state funding on employee compensation — raising the “compensation requirement” from 30% of new money to 40% — and would enlarge teacher-incentive…