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GISD staff say amended 2024–25 deficit narrowed; district previews 2025–26 budget drivers and timeline
Summary
At a Feb. 4 workshop GISD finance staff reported the adopted 2024–25 deficit was amended from $4.5 million to about $900,000 because of higher enrollment, improved ADA and a one-time $2 million property-value adjustment; staff outlined timelines and preliminary factors for the 2025–26 budget.
Jennifer Hannah, the district’s chief financial officer, briefed trustees at the Feb. 4 workshop on the district’s current-year budget amendment and preliminary considerations for the 2025–26 budget.
Hannah said the district adopted a $4.5 million deficit budget last June and has since amended that to a roughly $900,000 deficit. She attributed the improvement to higher-than-budgeted enrollment, stronger average daily attendance (ADA) and a one-time $2 million payment tied to a property-value reconciliation the district pursued through the comptroller’s process.
Hannah outlined the board’s budget timeline: continued workshops in February and March, certified preliminary tax values from Williamson County in April, a preliminary budget in May and final budget adoption at the regular June board meeting. The certified property values arrive in July and the district adopts a tax rate (typically in August) once values are certified; Hannah warned that legislative changes to tax formulas could affect that schedule.
Preliminary 2025–26 factors noted by finance staff included a conservative projected property-value increase of about 7 percent, a preliminary enrollment projection of approximately 14,060 students (roughly 1.2 percent growth), and ADA assumptions between 94 and 95 percent (the district had budgeted 92 percent). Payroll remains the district’s largest expenditure (estimated at 80–87 percent of operating costs), Hannah said.
Other budget drivers Hannah and staff flagged: uncertainty about the legislature’s actions on teacher pay and other revenue changes, anticipated special-education staffing needs, attrition used as a budgeting lever, consideration of secondary class sizes, one-time and ongoing costs for a new Frost Elementary opening in the fall, and reduced outside funding for summer-school programs (the district expects to fund summer school from the operating budget if federal grants do not return).
Why it matters: The preliminary figures and assumptions will shape the district’s compensation, staffing and program decisions for 2025–26. Hannah urged trustees that final decisions depend on certified values, legislative outcomes and updated enrollment/ADA data during the spring cycle.
Next steps: Staff will return with updated revenue projections in March, certified preliminary tax values from Williamson County in April, and a preliminary budget in May for board review ahead of a June adoption vote.
