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Weslaco ISD outlines budget pressures, enrollment and timeline at first workshop
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Richard Rivera told the Weslaco ISD Board that roughly three-quarters of the district's $210 million budget goes to staff costs and outlined enrollment, state funding and health-insurance pressures as the district prepares a July 1 fiscal-year budget.
WESLACO, Texas — Superintendent Dr. Richard Rivera told the Weslaco ISD Board of Trustees at a budget workshop Monday that the district is planning the fiscal 2025-26 budget against several uncertainties at the state and federal levels and must meet a July 1 adoption deadline.
Rivera said the district's combined general, food-service and debt-service budget is about $210 million and that about $157.4 million'roughly 75% of that total'goes to employee compensation. "Three quarters out of every dollar goes to pay for staff," Rivera said during the workshop.
The superintendent reviewed how the district's revenue depends largely on enrollment and average daily attendance (ADA), and how temporary federal funds such as ESSER affected per-student spending during the pandemic. Rivera said per-student spending rose to about $17,000 in 2022-23 because of ESSER and bond-related spending, and that without ESSER the district's pre-pandemic per-pupil figure was lower.
Nut graf: The presentation framed what the board will weigh when drafting the 2025-26 budget: enrollment and ADA projections, possible changes to state school finance bills, ongoing bond and capital projects, and rising employee-related costs such as health insurance and locally funded stipends.
Key details and district planning
- Enrollment and ADA: Rivera said the district projects a modest decline in total enrollment for next school year and reported a conservative enrollment projection of 16,197 students. He said ADA for the current budget year was budgeted at 14,500 and that the district expects roughly a 100-student increase in ADA for the coming year.
- Staffing and stipends: Rivera confirmed that staff costs are the largest budget driver. He noted a locally funded $2,000 teacher incentive stipend; when multiplied by the employee headcount the stipend represents about $5 million in salary-related cost. Rivera said the board and administration are counting on additional ADA growth and other measures when determining how to fund personnel increases.
- State funding uncertainty: Rivera summarized pending legislation in Austin. He said House Bill 2 (school finance) and Senate Bill 2 (which includes provisions related to vouchers and property-tax changes) remained under negotiation and that some statewide messaging about higher per-pupil funding includes temporary sources or hold-harmless provisions. Rivera cited the state's current basic allotment figure of $6,160 per regular student as a reference point used for budgeting.
- Federal and bond funds: Rivera noted ESSER monies and bond proceeds inflated recent per-pupil figures. He also said bond-funded capital projects and some nonbond projects (HVAC, fields, roofs) will continue to affect spending and cash flow.
- Health insurance: The district budgeted for an 8% increase in health-insurance premiums this year and planned conservatively for another similar increase in 2025-26. Rivera said that would translate to roughly a $2 million increase in district costs, with employees and the district sharing premium increases.
- Timeline and next steps: Rivera said the board will hold budget workshop No. 2 in May and workshop No. 3 in June, with the goal of adopting the budget by the statutory deadline before the July 1 fiscal year start. Tax-rate discussions will follow in August and September once the legislature's actions are clearer.
Enrollment preregistration
When board member Coach Silva asked about preregistration, district official Mr. Butterworth said preregistration stood at about 70% as of the morning of the meeting, and the district was encouraging families to complete preregistration ahead of summer.
Why it matters
The district's decisions on stipends, salary increases and whether to use fund balance or reallocate local dollars to pay for projects will affect staffing and campus programs. Rivera emphasized that most discretionary budget capacity is limited because personnel costs are the majority of spending.
Ending
Rivera and the business office presented charts and historical budget data that the board and public can review on the district's transparency pages; the board scheduled additional budget workshops in May and June to refine projections and consider pay and benefit proposals before adopting a final budget.
