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Waco ISD finance director reports $7.1M year‑end surplus; board approves budget amendments
Summary
Chief financial officer Cheryl Davis told trustees the district closed the prior year with a $7.1 million surplus after moving and spending federal ESSER funds; trustees unanimously approved consent agenda and a $350,000 budget amendment for Waco High weight room drawn from bond funds.
WACO — Cheryl Davis, Waco ISD chief financial officer, reported to the board that the district closed the previous fiscal year in the black by about $7.1 million after using unspent ESSER funds, property value appeal adjustments and some one‑time items.
"We had thought we'd end up in the red about $697,000; we ended up in the black $7,100,000," Davis said during her overview, describing how federal ESSER dollars and late property value adjustments affected final balances.
Davis told the board the district's fund balance totaled 32.9% of last year's expenditures and 31.8% of the current year's budget after accounting for inventories, prepaid items and purchase orders carried at August 31. She flagged ongoing fiscal pressures: a 10.6% enrollment decline and a 13.4% decline in average daily attendance over five years; an estimated $3.8 million reduction in local property tax collections tied to levy adjustments and homestead exemption changes; and rising costs for fuel, utilities, insurance and safety obligations.
Trustees discussed potential legislative changes that could affect revenues. Davis summarized pending proposals: a House bill that would raise the basic allotment by $220 per student and other provisions that, if enacted, could provide Waco ISD roughly $4.5 million next year — but she warned those increases would not fully offset the district's projected shortfall.
On formal actions during the meeting, the board approved the consent agenda (with item 7B pulled for separate consideration) and then unanimously approved an amendment to the 2024–25 budget that included a $350,000 allocation for a new Waco High School weight room funded by bond proceeds. In that discussion, trustees and staff said the district's practice is to place new equipment in the new facility and redistribute older equipment to campuses with needs.
Motion summary: trustee Patrick Patton moved to accept the consent agenda except for item 7B; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Later trustee Tony Guillory moved to accept item 7B as presented; that motion also passed unanimously.
Davis and trustees also discussed the district's adopted 2024–25 budget, which includes an $8 million planned deficit; Davis said the district expects some underspending that may reduce the realized deficit. She reviewed several risk areas for 2025–26 including potential increases in the homestead exemption, rising property and health insurance costs, and transportation funding that covers only a fraction of the district's $6 million estimated transportation expense.
The board moved into closed session at 8:20 p.m.; no further budget actions were taken in open session.
