La Joya ISD presents draft 2025–26 balanced budget, proposes raises and $55.9 million in strategic investments

Merjet Bridal, chief of business finance and administrative services for La Joya ISD, presented a draft 2025–26 budget at a board workshop, saying the district currently expects $262,000,000 in revenue and a balanced budget that includes pay increases for all staff.

Bridal warned the budget is being built amid “moving” variables, chief among them a decade-long enrollment decline that she said totals “over 8,000 students,” and chronic absenteeism at several campuses that reduces the average daily attendance (ADA) the district uses to calculate state funding. She said declines in career and technical education, emerging bilingual and early education allotments together account for an estimated $8,500,000 of lost revenue.

The budget presentation set out why the figures matter. Bridal said the district initially estimated a $16,900,000 surplus before accounting for the proposed raises; after including the required teacher increases tied to pending legislation and a recommended 4% across‑the‑board raise, she told the board the projection is an estimated surplus of about $1,500,000. She noted final revenue certification and some legislative provisions remain pending, so figures could change.

Why it matters: La Joya ISD relies heavily on ADA-based state funding; sustained…