McAllen ISD presents near-final 2025–26 budget with raises and stipend increases; final adoption set for June 24

McAllen Independent School District staff presented a near-final balanced budget for the 2025–26 school year Monday, saying the proposal incorporates House Bill 2 funding and district priorities and will be returned to the board for final adoption on June 24.

The presentation, led by Lorena Garcia and Joel Garcia on behalf of the budget team and introduced by Superintendent Dr. Thomas Gutierrez, outlined general fund revenues and appropriations, proposed compensation changes, stipend increases and a $2,000,000 contribution to the district health plan. "We are pleased to bring forward a balanced budget for the 2526 school year," Lorena Garcia said during the presentation.

Why it matters: District leaders framed the budget as a stability-focused plan that preserves staff and avoids school consolidations while directing new state dollars to pay increases for teachers and additional resources for campus and support staff.

Key details from the presentation: - Teacher compensation: The budget models tiered increases tied to House Bill 2: $1,560 for teachers with 1–2 years’ experience, $2,500 for 3–4 years, and $5,000 for teachers with five or more years. The presentation lists a proposed starting teacher salary of $55,300. - Other employees: Non-teacher employees are modeled to receive a 2.5% increase to their new midpoint. The district said midpoints have increased and modeled pay accordingly. - Stipends and planning time: The budget includes multiple stipend updates (examples cited: master stipend recommended increase from $2,000 to $2,500 per outside consultant recommendations) and a $2,000,000 contribution to the health plan fund. District staff said they are working to restore secondary teacher planning periods; restoration is not yet modeled in the balanced budget and would be added if savings are identified during the year or via a future amendment. - Payroll and object-code detail: The presentation noted payroll represents 80.84% of certain fund expenditures and that the district is targeting reductions via attrition. Capital outlay items called out in the presentation included $525,000 in child nutrition capital purchases (refrigerated truck and kitchen equipment).

District staff described the budget as mostly finalized, with a few technical entries (fringe benefits, final stipend modeling) remaining. The draft annual budget book was presented and will be finalized for the board packet; staff said the final book will be ready by June 19 for the June 24 meeting. "At this stage, we are focused on finalizing and implementing the budget as presented," Dr. Gutierrez said.

Discussion highlights: Trustees asked how one-time surplus and modeled but not-yet-modeled items would be allocated. Garcia said the draft showed a modest general fund surplus (presented as $439,690) that staff expect to use to increase certain stipends already identified; the exact fiscal impact is still being calculated in the HR/staff-planning system. Trustees pressed to prioritize hourly employees (kitchen staff, bus drivers, custodians); presenters said district leaders favor a 75¢ or no-less-than-50¢ hourly increase for eligible hourly staff if it can be modeled and funded.

Process and next steps: Staff will finish fringe and staff-planning database entries, finalize the budget book by June 19, and return the proposed budget to the board for adoption at the June 24 board meeting.

Ending: The board workshop moved on to the health plan update after the budget presentation. The meeting later recessed and was adjourned by motion (see actions).