The Lubbock ISD Board of Trustees on a 7-0 vote adopted the district202526 fiscal-year budget after hearing from Chief Financial Officer Dwayne Wilkins that the districtfaces a projected shortfall under existing law.

CFO Dwayne Wilkins told trustees the districtis projecting roughly a $7.6 million deficit based on the state funding formulas still in effect. Wilkins said the estimate uses "old law" because the Texas Education Agency has not yet published implementation rules for House Bill 2, the recently passed school finance legislation.

"When the new implementation gets rolled out, we will then come back and amend the budget to reflect that implementation," Wilkins said during the board meeting.

Why it matters: The board adopted a budget based on currently available state funding calculations but expects to amend that budget after the state issues rules under House Bill 2. Wilkins and trustees said they have estimated the district could receive between $12 million and $14 million under the new law, but those funds would come with conditions and will not automatically resolve the full shortfall.

Key facts and numbers: Wilkins presented assumptions the budget used, including a proposed preliminary tax rate of $0.87 with a dedicated interest-and-sinking (I&S) rate of $0.175. The budget presentation identified a roughly $4 million projected decrease in operating revenues and a $5 million decrease in expenditures, producing the net $7.6 million revenue-over-expenditure gap under current templates.

Discussion and next steps: Trustees asked when any compensation changes for employees would appear in payroll. Wilkins and Superintendent Dr. Rolo told the board they are working with the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) and will present pay-scale options and possible timing at a July finance committee meeting. Officials said if a compensation decision is finalized after the start of the school year, the district will make retroactive pay adjustments to cover earlier months.

Trustees emphasized wanting a measured approach to any compensation plan, noting some neighboring districts have already implemented partial increases but warning that those moves can create additional benefit-cost obligations the district must fund.

The board approved the adoption motion without roll-call opposition. Officials said they will return with budget amendments once the state issues House Bill 2 implementation guidance and district certified tax values are received.