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Pearland ISD board adopts balanced FY 2025–26 budget; approves substitute‑pay bump and amendments
Summary
The Pearland ISD Board of Trustees on June 24 adopted a balanced FY 2025–26 budget, approved a $5 across‑the‑board substitute‑pay increase and passed budget amendments that shift contingencies into the capital renewal plan and surplus; all measures passed unanimously.
The Pearland Independent School District Board of Trustees on June 24 approved the district's proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget and several related compensation and amendment items. The board voted 7–0 to adopt the budget as presented.
Superintendent Dr. Berger opened a public hearing required by Texas law and summarized the assumptions behind the plan, including a projected student enrollment of 20,668 and an average daily attendance assumption of 95 percent. He said the district built the budget on a proposed maintenance tax rate of 0.7676 per $100 of assessed value and an interest‑and‑sinking (I&S) rate of 0.3481 per $100, which he described as slightly lower than the current year. Berger noted the board will adopt a final tax rate in August after the county issues certified values on July 25.
Dr. Berger described projected totals across funds: the presentation showed about $284 million in total projected revenues and about $278 million in projected expenditures, producing a projected surplus of roughly $5.8–6.0 million across the district. He said the business office plans to transfer half of expected surplus to the capital renewal plan (CPR) to fund long‑range facility needs such as roofs, HVAC and buses, and to preserve days of fund balance for contingencies.
On compensation, trustees approved a $5 across‑the‑board increase in substitute pay, moved to make district rates more competitive and improve substitute fill rates. Dr. Dahlkamp said the increase will improve competitiveness with neighboring districts and that the district aims to continue evaluating supplemental rates for specific categories such as retired or formerly certified teachers. “The $5 moves everybody up across the board,” Dahlkamp said, noting the change is expected to boost the sub fill rate closer to pre‑COVID levels.
The board also approved several FY 2024–25 budget amendments that reclassified contingency amounts into the instruction function to improve tracking and provided for transfers of funds into the CPR and surplus. Dr. Berger told trustees that the business office reconciled contingencies into a single function to make spending more transparent and manageable.
The board adopted the budget, approved the substitute‑pay increase and passed the 2024–25 amendments by unanimous votes. Tax‑rate adoption will occur at a future meeting in August once certified values are available.
