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 enrollment drops reduce per‑pupil funding and can force staffing and program adjustments. Bridal singled out chronic absenteeism as a direct loss to student services and district revenue, using Palm View as an example of a campus whose absenteeism has cost the district about $396,000.

The presentation also described major cost pressures beyond enrollment. Bridal said the district self‑funds employee health insurance and has recorded an estimated $21,000,000 of claims beyond premium revenue over the last three years. Facilities are another pressure: district buildings are, on average, used at about 61% capacity but must be maintained 100%, she said. Staffing changes undertaken this year resulted in a net reduction of 261 positions after closures, reassignments and reimagined roles.

On the revenue and legislative front, Bridal reviewed several items under consideration at the state level. She identified HB 2 as awaiting signature and said it would increase the basic allotment by about $55 per student versus the 2019 level and would require targeted teacher pay increases of $2,500 for teachers with three to four years’ experience and $5,000 for those with five or more. Bridal said the district plans to include those mandated increases and to add a district recommendation of a 4% increase across other eligible staff and to base other raises on midpoint adjustments in the proposed compensation plan.

District priorities and strategic investments: Bridal described roughly $55.9 million in new or expanded investments aligned with the district’s strategic plan. She broke the total into categories the district is funding for 2025–26, including instructional leadership and teacher supports, career pathways such as a P‑TECH pathway at La Joya High School, full‑day pre‑K funding, additional attendance and behavioral supports, a facility master plan, district technology refresh, and safety investments. The presentation said the district will expand the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) eligibility next year and highlighted the recent one‑time TIA awards that distributed over $3,000,000 to more than 243 designated teachers this year.

Compensation mechanics: Later in the meeting, Miss Miller (compensation team) explained the proposed compensation manual mechanics: the district would provide the legislated teacher raises when the law is signed and add an additional 4% midpoint‑based increase to make pay more competitive and equitable across job grades. Bridal estimated the district would account for benefits and retirement costs tied to those raises (she used an estimated 12% for fringe cost coverage while other legislative riders are pending).

Board reaction and next steps: Trustees praised staff work on the budget, but emphasized the workshop nature of the discussion. No formal adoption occurred; Bridal said the board is scheduled to adopt the general fund, Child Nutrition Services Fund and debt service budgets on June 18 and to consider the tax rate in September once property valuation certifications arrive. Board members and staff flagged follow‑up areas including continued monitoring of legislation, further work on attendance interventions, and implementation details for the pay increases.

Discussion vs. decision: The workshop included extensive discussion and multiple clarifying questions; the board did not adopt the budget at the meeting. Several formal consent and contract items later on the agenda were approved by separate motions, but the draft 2025–26 budget itself remained in workshop status pending final legislative and valuation data.

Ending: Bridal closed by stressing the draft nature of the plan and inviting continued review and questions before the June 18 adoption vote. The board thanked staff for the work and noted the district will continue to monitor legislative action and final revenue certification.