Denton ISD officials describe multi‑million‑dollar shortfalls, urge state increase to basic allotment

Summary

Denton ISD leaders told a joint meeting that attendance-based funding, rising costs, and unfunded state mandates have created multi‑million‑dollar gaps in areas including special education, transportation and safety; they urged the legislature to raise the basic allotment so local districts retain discretionary control.

Jeremy Thompson, deputy superintendent of Denton ISD, and Darren Robinson, the district's general counsel, presented the district's legislative priorities and a fiscal briefing to the joint meeting on April 1, warning that state funding rules and recent cost pressures have produced sizable budget gaps.

"The size of our bucket only grows if we have more students, or if we have more weighted students," Thompson said, using the district's analogy for how state and local revenue combine to fund operations. He explained that Texas funds districts on average daily attendance and on weighted attendance (WADA) for special programs rather than on enrollment.

Thompson and Robinson described three broad causes of Denton ISD's budget shortfall: stagnant base funding, rising mandated costs, and declines in attendance. The district said the basic allotment per student remains $6,160 — a figure set in 2019 — and that inflation since then has reduced buying power. Thompson said Denton ISD's enrollment is roughly 33,400 students, average daily attendance is about 94.5 percent (roughly 31,000), but weighted average…

Denton ISD officials describe multi‑million‑dollar shortfalls, urge state increase to basic allotment

Summary

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