Willis ISD projects balanced $96.8 million 2025–26 budget while flagging grant and insurance uncertainties

Willis Independent School District finance staff presented a $96.8 million preliminary budget for fiscal year 2025–26 on July 9, saying the plan is balanced under current assumptions but depends on several uncertain factors, including attendance (average daily attendance), state funding formulas and property-value changes.

“At the end of the day, I am looking at a balanced budget,” staff presenter Garrett Montay said during the meeting’s budget workshop. Montay said his planning ADA (average daily attendance) figure is 8,750 students and that figure is intentionally conservative; last year the district’s ADA was roughly 8,470 while total enrollment ended near 9,313.

Montay told trustees he is projecting a total tax rate “under a dollar at 98.7” cents, with an anticipated maintenance-and-operations (M&O) rate of 0.6190 and an interest-and-sinking (I&S) rate expected to remain about 0.368. He said property-taxable values supplied by Montgomery County showed roughly 17% growth before homestead and other exemptions; when draft exemptions are applied in the county scenario Montay said taxable values fall to about 12% growth.

Why it matters: ADA and certified property values drive local tax revenue and state funding. Montay said recent Texas legislation will change how homestead and over‑65 exemptions affect Willis ISD’s roll and that those law changes make revenue projections harder to pin down. He warned trustees the district is still waiting county-certification of values and that some new exemptions—described in the presentation as “senate bill 4,” “senate bill 23” and “house bill 9” in his remarks—will alter next year’s tax bills and district revenue.

Federal grants: Montay and Dr. James informed the board that the U.S. Department of Education issued a June 30 notice delaying release of certain grant awards; Montay listed Title II, Title III and Title IV awards as affected. Willis planned roughly $580,000 from those grants (about $311,000 for Title II professional development and roughly $100,000 in payroll funded through Title III for bilingual programming). Montay said TEA is not authorizing obligation of those funds until the U.S. Department of Education issues its formal awards and advised trustees to “plan for the worst‑case scenario.” He said the district would consider holding additional reserves until the grants are certain.

Expenditures and drivers: Montay said payroll represents 84.1% of projected expenditures (about $81.3 million), with roughly $63.4 million tied to exempt employees (classroom teachers, principals and administrators) and $13.1 million to hourly employees. The proposed 2025–26 budget includes roughly $4.9 million in district contributions toward employee health insurance.

Bonds and debt: Montay reviewed a recent sale of bonds—$87.7 million sold June 24—that will fund a transportation center, high‑school parking work and a ninth‑grade unit. He said proceeds were expected to post by July 23 and that the district is evaluating a potential refunding (refinancing) this fall that could target $40 million–$60 million of outstanding bonds to reduce interest expense.

Board direction and next steps: Montay said he expects to present a near‑final budget for adoption next month and cautioned numbers may change as property values are certified and federal-grant awards clarify. He also said the district will monitor enrollment and attendance closely and pursue attendance-improvement initiatives that include incentives and communication strategies intended to both improve outcomes and stabilize ADA funding.

Context: Montay repeatedly emphasized caution about assumptions tied to new state exemptions and to timing of federal grant awards. He also noted the health‑insurance fund has run deficits for several years and that trustees will consider insurance‑renewal and plan changes later in the meeting.

Ending: Trustees did not adopt the budget at the July 9 meeting; Montay said the board will consider adoption in August after county property valuations are certified and after further review of federal grant status.