Richardson ISD board adopts 2024-25 amended budget and 2025-26 proposed budget after public hearing

The Richardson Independent School District Board of Trustees on Thursday evening adopted an amended 2024-25 budget and approved the proposed 2025-26 budgets after a public hearing on the district’s spending plan.

The board held a public hearing on the proposed 2025-26 budget and proposed tax rate before taking action. At the hearing, Ewan Blackman, a resident who spoke during the hearing, said he supported the 2025-26 budget and praised what he described as $12.3 million in savings and $2 million in central-administration cuts that district staff and community volunteers had identified.

Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Support Services David Pate presented the district’s proposed budgets, saying the plan supports the board’s strategic priorities and the district’s “North Star” goals. Pate summarized Project RightSize savings, noted that the district’s unassigned fund balance is “about $175,000,000,” and described one-time and recurring savings tied to consolidations under Project RightSize. He also walked the board through the three funds the board was being asked to adopt: the General Fund, Debt Service Fund and Child Nutrition Fund.

Pate said the district budgeted a 3% pay increase in the Child Nutrition Fund, and that the district will increase elementary lunch prices from $2.80 to $3.05 and junior-high/high-school lunches from $2.95 to $3.20; breakfast prices were not changed. He also told trustees that the district has issued $725 million of the $750 million in bonds approved by voters in 2021, with a final $25 million sale planned in the coming weeks. Pate said the district budgeted 5% property value growth for 2025-26 and noted the Skillman TIF participation ends this June, with a final TIF payment of about $2 million.

Pate reported that Moody’s and S&P both affirmed the district’s bond ratings with stable outlooks in connection with the upcoming bond sale. He further said portions of Project RightSize savings came from allocations that do not all hit the General Fund—some savings show up in Child Nutrition or other funds—and he described the Sherman property transaction the district completed as realizing roughly the purchase price when sold.

Trustees voted to approve a final amended 2024-25 budget and then to adopt the proposed 2025-26 budgets for the General Fund, Debt Service Fund and Child Nutrition Fund. The board voted 7–0 on both actions. Board members and staff repeatedly cautioned that the budgets were built on current law and that final implementation of teacher raises and other components may change after the Texas Legislature’s House Bill 2 rulemaking and agency guidance are published; the district plans to bring amendments if required.

The board did not adopt a tax rate tonight. District staff said the budget was published on a working tax-rate assumption to meet legal notice requirements and that the actual tax-rate adoption will come in August or September, after further state guidance and the district’s fall valuation processes.

Votes at a glance

- Adopt final amended 2024-25 budget: outcome approved, vote 7–0 (mover/second not specified in the public transcript). Note: superintendent recommended approval; staff emphasized subsequent amendments could follow after state guidance.

- Adopt proposed 2025-26 budgets (General Fund, Debt Service Fund, Child Nutrition Fund): outcome approved, vote 7–0 (mover/second not specified in the public transcript). Tax rate not adopted this evening.

Why this matters

The budgets set staffing and spending priorities for the district of roughly 37,000 students and more than 5,700 employees, and they incorporate local cost-savings efforts, bond-service plans and an anticipated state funding increase tied to legislative action. Trustees and staff emphasized that the budgets reflect current law and that state rule-making and TEA guidance on House Bill 2 will determine final compensation adjustments and some allotment details.

What’s next

Staff said they will monitor rulemaking tied to House Bill 2 and return to the board with budget amendments if the state’s interpretation requires changes to local compensation or allocations. The tax-rate adoption is expected later in the summer or fall when property valuations and new state guidance can be incorporated.

Sources and attribution

Quotations and budget figures come from remarks by Assistant Superintendent David Pate and public comments on June 5, 2025, at the Richardson ISD board meeting. The board’s formal approvals are recorded in the meeting’s roll-call votes.