Brownsville ISD trustees approve budget amendment and facility contracts, reject outside forensic audit

Brownsville Independent School District trustees on Jan. 14 approved a budget amendment to cover recently approved employee stipends and cleared multiple facility and service contracts, while rejecting motions to terminate the district's outside counsel and to hire an independent forensic auditor.

The board convened at the BISD boardroom with Board President Erasmo Castro presiding. Chief Financial Officer Mr. Cespedes reported the district's financial snapshot as of Dec. 31, 2024: "we've received approximately in revenues about $208,800,000. We have had expenditures of about $229,100,000. So currently, we do have a deficit of about 20.2 million dollars," he said. Cespedes also reported special revenue (state and federal grants) receipts of about $15,300,000 and expenditures of about $27,800,000 (reimbursable grants), debt-service collections of roughly $17,300,000 and a self-insurance fund deficit of about $4,900,000 as of December.

Why it matters: the board moved to cover near-term liabilities by approving Budget Amendment No. 14, which trustees said mainly funds stipends the board authorized in December. Trustees also approved routine construction and engineering payments and continued or renewed several contracts; board members repeatedly asked staff for clearer rollout plans and implementation schedules for completed facilities.

Key decisions and approvals included: - Budget Amendment No. 14: trustees approved a budget amendment that included a roughly $4.0 million draw from fund balance to pay stipends approved in December. Trustees said the majority of that amount is recorded under salary functions in the backup materials.

- Payments for construction and engineering services: the board authorized payments listed in the meeting backup totaling roughly $1,000,002.91 for construction and engineering services tied to ongoing district projects, including HVAC work. Facilities staff told trustees the district is "winding down" several major HVAC projects and that a half-dozen jobs remain.

- Garden Park Fit America center: trustees accepted the Garden Park Fit America center as "substantially complete." Administration announced a grand-opening/ribbon-cutting scheduled for Jan. 23 at 9 a.m. and said staff will finalize community hours, security and scheduling with Fit America and campus leadership before opening public access.

- Gladys Porter Zoo agreement: the board approved a one-year memorandum of agreement not to exceed $43,200 to purchase 48,000 admission tickets for student and chaperone visits; administration said the tickets cover students, teacher aides and volunteers and that unused tickets carry expiration dates.

- Region 1 contracts for staff development: two campus-requested contracts with Region 1 (one not to exceed $1,600 for Bettis Elementary and another not to exceed $10,000 for Russell Elementary) were approved. Administration said campuses budget for these services and that external providers are used to supplement district instruction and coaching.

Votes on two high-profile motions failed. A motion to terminate the district's outside counsel did not pass (3 yes, 4 no). A separate motion to appoint an independent external auditor to conduct a forensic audit also failed (3 yes, 4 no). Several trustees urged caution about duplicating work that the district's internal auditor is already performing and asked for a prioritized, phased audit plan if the board seeks additional external review.

Board action items that passed unanimously or by majority (see formal record): approval of the meeting agenda and minutes; approval of campus improvement plans (required by the Texas Education Code); acceptance of the Fit America center as substantially complete; authorization of construction payments and the Gladys Porter Zoo agreement; and Budget Amendment No. 14. The board also approved using board travel funds for trustee attendance at the 89th Texas Legislature in Austin, Jan. 28'30, using each trustee's budgeted travel allotment (trustees noted a $7,000-per-member travel budget). That trip authorization passed 6-1.

Discussion vs. direction vs. decision: trustees heard discussion on the scale and timing of deficits (general fund, self-insurance, and special revenue timing), asked staff to continue monthly monitoring and reporting, and discussed how to prioritize future audits so external work does not duplicate internal audit efforts. Decisions included the fiscal approvals noted above and the rejection of outside counsel termination and an independent forensic audit.

Quotes: Chief Financial Officer Mr. Cespedes summarized the fiscal snapshot: "So currently, we do have a deficit of about 20.2 million dollars." Board President Erasmo Castro and several trustees emphasized saving district dollars for direct student and staff purposes when weighing external consulting or audit requests.

What's next: administration said it will provide monthly updates on the self-insurance fund and other fiscal items and will circulate schedules and security plans for new facilities prior to community openings.