Duncanville ISD adopts 2025–26 budget after HB2 estimate raises $6 million in potential new funding

DUNCANVILLE, Texas — The Duncanville Independent School District Board of Trustees on June 16 adopted the district’s 2025–26 General Fund, Child Nutrition Fund and Debt Service Fund budgets after receiving a public presentation on legislative funding changes tied to House Bill 2.

At a public hearing, Chief Financial Officer Brandy Mayo told trustees early estimates show HB2 could bring “about $6,000,000” to the district, though she cautioned that officials are still waiting on full TEA guidance and legal interpretation. Mayo said roughly $2,200,000 of that estimate may be available for discretionary use after required teacher raises and basic-cost allocations are taken into account, while about $1,200,000 would be tied to basic costs such as utilities and transportation.

“This budget will be based on current legislation,” Mayo said during the presentation, describing the district’s assumptions: a 3% taxable assessed-value growth, an estimated tax rate of 1.1027, projected enrollment of 11,232 and an average daily attendance estimate of 9,987.

The board previously approved a new starting teacher salary of $61,000; Mayo said certified bilingual and special-education self-contained teachers would start at $65,000 under the board-approved structure. Under the high-level HB2 estimates Mayo cited, districts with more than 5,000 students could see a teacher-retention component that includes a $2,500 increase for teachers with three to four years’ experience and $5,000 for teachers with five-plus years’ experience.

During public comment, educator Julia Oglesby read a letter from Kenimer and high-school special-education staff raising concerns about pay, workload and staff burnout. Quoting a Southwest Dallas AFT survey, Oglesby said 48% of respondents reported that a pay increase would ease financial strain and that “69% of our staff … stated salary is the number one issue that causes our work-related stress.” Trustees thanked her for the submission; no immediate policy changes were made in response to the comment.

After the presentation and brief Q&A, the board voted 6–0 to adopt the budgets as presented and to approve a 2025–26 compensation plan that district HR described as aligning positions, updating classifications and targeting stipends for special-education shortage areas. Mayo said any changes required by final HB2 language or TEA calculations will be addressed through a future budget amendment when final revenue figures are available.

What’s next: the district plans to incorporate any HB2-directed changes through budget amendments expected in August after certified property values are published in July, with a final tax-rate adoption scheduled for September.