Harlandale ISD trustees review 2025–26 budget projections, consider new pay incentives tied to campus ratings and attendance

HARLANDALE, Texas — Harlandale ISD trustees held a special meeting on May 28 to review the district’s first 2025–26 budget workshop, hearing staff projections that show a potential $13,014,037 deficit under current law and discussing proposed changes to compensation and retention pay tied to campus ratings and student attendance.

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Francisco Flores led the presentation, telling the board that “the ink has not hit the paper yet” on state legislation that could change district revenue projections. Flores said the district is planning for current-law funding until bills are finalized but expects updated figures after the Texas Legislature’s decisions in early June.

The board heard detailed budget figures and several policy recommendations that district staff said are intended to improve retention and classroom supports if legislative funding materializes. Flores presented projected 2025–26 general fund revenues of $125,343,675 and projected expenses of roughly $130,350,712, and he said payroll (salaries, substitutes, benefits and stipends) is projected at $117,360,655. “So the overall projected deficit right now as is in the current law would be $13,014,037,” Flores said.

Board context: why this matters

The district’s budget assumptions remain contingent on pending state action. Flores and other staff repeatedly noted that House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2 were still subject to change; the presentation used current-law estimates and flagged that the board would revisit figures once the Legislature’s work…