San Angelo ISD superintendent outlines major education bills, highlights staffing and funding gaps

Superintendent Doctor Moran briefed trustees on key outcomes from the 89th Texas Legislature that will affect San Angelo ISD's budget, staffing and operations.

Moran said House Bill 2 is the session's primary school-finance bill and that it provides roughly $8.5 billion in new funding for public schools, with about $4.2 billion targeted for teacher pay. "In districts like us that are more than 5,000 students, the funding that's required by the state for 3- to 4-year experienced teachers is $2,500 per teacher; 5 years plus will get $5,000 more per year and that's ongoing," Moran said. He noted the funding formulas exclude teachers in their first two years; SAISD has about 100 teachers in years 0–2 and Moran said the district will need to evaluate how to address equity across staff categories because some positions that feel like "teachers" locally (instructional coaches, librarians, certain interventionists) are not counted by the state formula unless they provide a classroom teaching schedule that meets the state's definition.

Moran also highlighted changes in school-safety and discipline policy under House Bill 6, including expanded authority to remove chronically disruptive elementary students in limited circumstances, extension of in-school suspension limits in some cases, and a relaxation of the prior mandatory DAEP placement for vaping (it is now discretionary). "Vaping was a mandatory DAEP placement. Now it's a may-place offense," Moran said. He said the change should give campuses more placement flexibility but noted the district still faces practical limits on AEP capacity.

Other statutes flagged by Moran: House Bill 27 adds a half-credit financial literacy requirement for graduation; Senate Bill 2 creates an education savings account/voucher program that Moran said will have a growing biennial fiscal impact; and Senate Bill 4 increases the homestead exemption to $140,000, which the bond adviser described separately as a reason to accelerate bond issuance. Moran also noted a new classroom posting requirement under Senate Bill 10 that prescribes a conspicuous 16-by-20-inch display of the 10 Commandments in each classroom; he called the provision explicit and said the district will comply while staff evaluates operational implications.

Moran gave a preliminary sense of timing for budget decisions. He said staff are running financial models and expect to have more concrete proposals on salary and budget trade-offs by July: "July is our target to get to bring something really good to you," he said. The superintendent emphasized the need to balance raises with other operating costs and the district's requirement to adopt a balanced budget.

Why it matters: the legislative package reallocates state funding flows and introduces new statutory requirements that will shape SAISD's budget decisions, staffing priorities and operational compliance in the coming fiscal year.