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Godley ISD finance director previews budget scenarios amid Texas legislative session and appraisal uncertainty
Summary
District finance staff outlined planning approaches for the 2025-26 budget, including scenarios based on possible state increases to the basic allotment or enrollment-based funding and potential local appraisal compression; the board heard preliminary estimates for teacher raises and revenue effects.
Godley ISD—inance staff on Tuesday walked trustees through preliminary budget scenarios for the 2025-26 school year, emphasizing that outcomes hinge on actions in the Texas Legislature and on county appraisal values.
Spencer, the district finance lead, told trustees that a $300 increase to the basic allotment or an equivalent enrollment-based funding approach would each yield roughly $1.3—.4 million to the district under preliminary estimates. He said that, if the state delivered such funding, the district could consider a $3,000-plus increase for teachers and additional support for non-certified staff, though any raise plan would depend on final legislative action and the governor pproval.
Spencer also explained how property-tax "compression" proposals at the state level would affect Godley—alculations: a 3-cent statewide compression proposal would translate into roughly a 1.5-cent loss for Godley under the current tiering, and the district is planning conservatively for a 2% local growth in taxable values and about 5% in state values for budget modeling.
Board members asked for specifics on appraisal growth and the timeline; Spencer said the certified county appraisals will arrive April 25 and that the district will prepare multiple options to present to trustees once numbers are firm. He also noted this is the district's first year in a three-year appraisal cycle and said last year's new-money growth was about $130 million on the roll, roughly 2% growth, and that he was planning conservative assumptions for modeling.
There was no formal vote; the presentation was informational and intended to set a path for a balanced 2025-26 budget and for possible budget workshops in May and June.
Ending: Administration said it will return with updated revenue estimates after county-certified appraisals arrive and after the Legislature acts, and that trustees should expect options tied to whether state funding or appraisal compression occurs.
