Spring ISD staff outline which pending state bills could reshape 2025–26 budget

Spring Independent School District leaders told the school board on March 25 that several pending Texas bills could materially affect the district's 2025–26 budget, including proposals on the basic allotment, special education funding, teacher pay requirements and homestead exemptions.

At a finance-focused meeting, Miss Westbrooks, a Spring ISD staff member who led the legislative overview, said House Bill 2 would raise the basic allotment from $6,160 to $6,380 — a $220 increase — but does not include a dedicated inflation adjustment. "There is no inflation adjustment that's included," Westbrooks said, adding that without an inflation adjustment districts that do not grow enrollment can see flat revenue even after raises are granted.

Why it matters: changes to the basic allotment and the distribution rules tied to it determine how much new state money flows to Spring ISD and how much must be spent on compensation. Westbrooks said current law requires 30% of basic allotment increases to be used for compensation and that HB2 proposes to raise that to 40%. She also described ongoing work at the Legislature on a special education funding model that would establish eight tiers to better reflect intensity of services and narrow an estimated gap of about $15 million between current funding and district special education costs.

Details from staff presentations: - Teacher incentive allotment (TIA): House Bill 2 would expand and increase the TIA and add an "acknowledge" designation. The bill would also create an "enhanced" teacher incentive allotment tied to campus performance and require that, to access the enhancement, all teachers be eligible for TIA under the district's local plan. Westbrooks said the allotment's eligibility parameters would still allow local program design but impose new state checks to maximize funding. - Education Savings Accounts (ESA): Westbrooks and other board members discussed that the ESA or voucher language was active in several bills and remains a point of negotiation between the House and Senate. Board members noted vigorous stakeholder pushback in hearings and that final outcomes were uncertain. - Senate Bill 26: Introduces a teacher retention allotment; for districts with more than 5,000 students it would provide one-time payments (example amounts cited: $2,500 for teachers with three to four years, $5,500 for teachers with five-plus years). SB26 would also repeal the 30% compensation requirement in current law, giving districts more local flexibility, staff said. - Senate Bill 260 (safety allotment): Would raise the per-student safety allotment by roughly $28 per average daily attendance (ADA) and increase campus-level allocations from $15,000 to $30,000 per campus, a substantial rise over the current safety allotment (the district's safety allotment is currently just under $1 million). - Senate Bill 4 (homestead exemption): Proposes raising the homestead exemption to $140,000. Staff warned of drafting that would hold districts harmless on interest & sinking (I&S) debt only for bonds issued as of Jan. 1, 2025, not bonds authorized but not yet issued. With $850 million in authorized bonds and roughly $318 million issued as of the presentation, Westbrooks said the difference could put as much as $60 million of state aid at risk if the language is not clarified; district staff and bond counsel are working to amend the bill language. - Senate Bill 1502: Would limit a district's ability to levy a tax rate above a voter-approved rate after a failed tax election, potentially removing the district's ability to use "disaster pennies" without voter approval in certain circumstances.

District caution and next steps: Westbrooks emphasized that the bills were still in committee or conference and that final budgetary impacts are not yet calculable. "None of our partners ... are putting out projected runs just yet because we're waiting for the dust to settle," she said. Staff said they will return with updated modeling at the April meeting once legislative text and conference negotiations are clearer.

Context and statewide snapshot: Westbrooks cited a Texas Education Agency report noting about 510 of roughly 1,200 Texas school districts ended 2023–24 with deficit spending, underscoring the statewide fiscal pressure districts face even as the Legislature debates funding changes.

Board discussion: Trustees asked clarifying questions about where ESA language appeared and about the timeline for tax-rate decisions if bills pass. Staff reminded trustees that, if a bill becomes law on Sept. 1 and Harris County certified values are not available until Aug. 31, operational timing can constrain immediate tax-rate adjustments.

What happens next: Spring ISD staff said they will produce budget runs under current law as well as scenario models for the board's April meeting, and will continue to work with TASB, bond counsel and financial advisers on language that could affect state hold-harmless provisions.