CSISD finance lead flags state revenue shortfall and budget pressures; fund balance remains three months
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Summary
District finance staff told trustees the 2025–26 budget faces revenue pressures — including roughly $1 million in state revenue shortfall and declines in federal reimbursements and interest earnings — while reporting a total fund balance near $65 million (about three months' operating reserves).
Miss Wilson, district finance lead, briefed the board on current-year finances and budget planning for 2025–26, saying the fiscal year is roughly 40% complete and the district has collected about 35% of budgeted revenue to date.
Wilson explained a bookkeeping correction tied to the district's fiscal-year change and said that, after adjusting prior entries, the district was about $1,000,000 short in state revenue at the most recent reporting checkpoint. She added that recent drops in SHARS federal funding (previously nearly $3 million) and weaker than expected interest earnings — influenced by a change in the district's depository contract — are creating additional headwinds.
"We're 1000000 dollars short in state revenue," Wilson said when describing the current summary of finance; she also noted the district budgets conservatively because new PEIMS reporting will push state adjustments during the school year rather than waiting until summer. Wilson said the district is using a conservative attendance assumption (about 95%) for the 2025–26 budget and that payroll accounts for about 84% of expenditures.
Wilson reviewed enrollment and historical context: the district's snapshot shows about 14,016 students and staff are studying five‑year grade-to-grade trends and boundary adjustments before setting final enrollment projections for next year. She said the district uses campus allocations based on estimated enrollment, with fixed-cost allowances for items such as copiers. Staffing models aim for an elementary class-size target of 22:1 and average high-school class constants of about 25.
On budget management, Wilson described steps already taken: rotating central-office budgets back to campuses, requiring zero‑based departmental budgets, analyzing stipends and overtime, and creating a budget-advisory committee to dig into school finance details. She said the district will continue to seek additional revenue sources — including expanded out-of-district transfers — and expects to return in February with staffing allocations based on finalized enrollment numbers.
Trustees asked about projected shortfalls and fund balance. Wilson reported the district's total fund balance near $65,000,000, which she said equates to roughly three months of operating reserves; during Q&A trustees and staff discussed additional shortfalls that could increase the gap beyond the initial $1 million state shortfall depending on federal funding adjustments.