Eagle Pass ISD superintendent outlines balanced budget, warns salary increases will use reserves if state aid falls short

Superintendent Jorge Mijares on Tuesday presented the Eagle Pass Independent School District's proposed budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year, telling the board the budget is essentially complete but that any statewide salary increases approved by the Texas Legislature would change the district's revenue and appropriations figures.

Mijares said the district's budget — about $179,500,000 in total appropriations — already commits roughly 82% of funds to salaries and fringe benefits and that taxes account for roughly 17% of revenue. He said most of the district's discretionary money sits in the maintenance and operations (M&O) fund and that one‑time capital projects and targeted spending have reduced that fund's balance.

The presentation matters because the board must adopt a legally formatted budget by August and because state funding decisions this spring could increase both revenues and mandated spending on employee pay. Mijares told trustees that an infusion from the Legislature intended for salary increases would be largely designated for personnel costs and that any increase the state provides would likely be passed through to employee pay.

Mijares walked trustees through the district's four required budget groups (general fund, special revenue, debt service and capital projects), noting that the general fund contains 20 internal budgets the board sees regularly. He said the district completed the draft budget early — in March — to allow flexibility while the Legislature considers multiple proposals that could change the district's allotments.

Key figures Mijares presented include: a M&O beginning fund balance of about $63.2 million (previous high of about $70 million), a projected one‑time drawdown of about $15.4 million to cover capital projects such as artificial turf and Memorial campus HVAC work, and approximately $29.2 million in transfers from the M&O that subsidize programs the state does not fully fund (transportation, athletics, special education and others). He said debt service payments run about $3 million per year and that the district's total outstanding debt was roughly $34.2 million as of Aug. 31 of the reported year.

On staffing and enrollments Mijares said Eagle Pass ISD has lost roughly 1,500 students since 2014–15 and about 1,828 average daily attendance (ADA) points in that period. He emphasized the district is funded on ADA, not enrollment, and that small changes in ADA produce multi‑million‑dollar swings in state funding. Mijares also described the district's staffing formula — which uses peak enrollment and square footage to allocate positions — and showed how campuses compare under that formula. He noted the district has kept campuses within federal and state 'comparability' ranges required to maintain certain funding.

Mijares outlined the superintendent's recommended local step increases for 2025–26 (a $50 local step for employees with 0–4 years’ experience and a $100 step for those with five or more years), and he told trustees one percent of payroll costs equals about $1.1 million in recurring expense. He said the district will wait for final legislative action on proposed salary packages and would return to the board if state action requires changing the adopted budget.

Trustees asked questions about fund balance interpretation, the mechanics of transfers that subsidize unfunded programs, the district's health‑insurance costs, and why property value growth does not result in retained state funding. Mijares explained the state's funding formula reduces state aid when local property values rise — a formulaic offset he described as the reason districts do not keep property‑value gains as discretionary revenue.

The presentation also covered ancillary items: projected 13.5% property value growth for next year in the district's calculations, a possible expansion of the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 under bills being discussed at the Legislature, and a proposed 5% increase in the district's health‑insurance costs. Mijares reiterated the district's preference for using any state‑designated new dollars for ongoing salary increases rather than one‑time projects.

Mijares closed by reminding trustees of the August timetable for formal budget adoption and saying the administration would bring a final recommended budget to the board after the appraisal district publishes final values and the Legislature completes action on school funding.

Mijares said, “Taxes only fund 17% of our budget,” and later warned, “When the legislators give us more money, we need to realize that that money is going to be targeted for salary increases.”