Alamo Heights ISD warns of $5 million shortfall, urges parents to press legislators to raise 'basic allotment'

Alamo Heights ISD staff told parents Feb. 1 that the district faces a multi‑million dollar budget gap for the upcoming biennium and urged community members to contact state legislators to press for an increase in the state’s basic allotment for school funding.

A district presenter said the district must identify roughly $5 million in additional savings for the next two‑year budget cycle to avoid another round of deeper cuts. "We already had to make several cuts," the presenter said, noting 22 positions were cut and about $2.5 million removed from this year’s budget through attrition and larger class sizes.

The presentation traced state funding history and singled out House Bill 3 (2019) as the law that created the current basic allotment model for school finance. District staff explained that increasing the basic allotment would automatically increase multiple funding streams — including teacher salaries, special education and safety funding — and would reduce recapture for property‑wealthy districts. The presenter said that if the legislature instead provides an earmarked teacher pay raise, that targeted money may not address the district’s broader operational shortfalls.

District leaders described a three‑tier plan for cuts. They said the board already approved cuts listed in Tier 1, will likely approve Tier 2 in February depending on legislative action, and will decide on Tier 3 in March. The presenter advised parents the board is watching the legislative process and will adjust decisions as new revenue becomes clearer.

As part of advocacy guidance, the presenter asked parents to call legislators weekly and provided a one‑sentence script they could use: "Hi, I'm [name]; I'm requesting that you increase the student‑based allotment by $1,340 to help fund schools for inflation," the presenter said, describing the script as sufficient to register constituent preferences with legislative offices.

The meeting included an account of a district trip to the state capitol where trustees, parents and students met or left messages for Representative Mark LaHood, Representative Barbara Gervin Hopkins, Representative Diego Bernal, Senator Donna Campbell and Senator Menendez. The presenter said attendees met with senior legislative aides and the staff member who manages the state senate education committee and that the district found "some offices receptive and some offices reporting there is not enough money available." The presenter urged parents to press their representatives regardless of party and to ask for partial increases if a full increase is not feasible.

No formal vote or new policy was taken at the meeting. The district asked the parent group to help organize regular constituent contacts to the legislature and said it would follow up by email and provide phone numbers and a short script for callers.

Ending — District staff framed the outreach as urgent for protecting instructional programs and teacher recruitment and said community calls to legislators would be tracked by legislative offices as a tangible indicator of constituent concern.