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Parents and teachers press Bowmont ISD on cuts to wellness staff as CFO outlines budget squeeze
Summary
Public commenters, parents and teachers urged Bowmont ISD trustees to restore campus wellness coordinators and behavior interventionists after the district announced cuts; CFO presented a $186M balanced budget that projects declining enrollment and warns a 1% attendance increase could yield roughly $1M.
Board members heard an extended public comment period where parents, teachers and community leaders raised alarm about recent eliminations of campus wellness coordinators and behavior interventionists and pressed the district for clear replacement plans and metrics.
Adriana Smoke told the board the cuts will leave students without trained professionals to de-escalate crises and asked, “Who will now fill that gap?” Rachel Waldrop, a parent of a child with ADHD and anxiety, said those positions are often “the difference between a child failing and a child thriving,” and cited district staffing and student-support figures during her remarks.
Teacher speakers and longtime employees echoed concerns about morale and retention. Bridget Smith, a teacher at Peach MacArthur, said unlocked doors and uncertainty about jobs and pay have driven staff departures; Linda Gilmore, a 57-year BISD educator, warned of teacher flight and asked the board to repair trust in the community.
District Chief Financial Officer Cheryl delivered the budget presentation that followed public comment. She described three funds (general, child nutrition and debt service), outlined recent bond defeasance (about $7 million paid off this week), and said the district plans to ask the board to adopt budgets in June for fiscal 2026-27.
Cheryl cautioned that enrollment and attendance drive state funding: the district projects enrollment at roughly 15,380 students (daily attendance projected near 90%) and an average daily attendance figure materially below state averages. She estimated that a 1 percentage-point increase in attendance could generate about $1 million of additional revenue the district could use for teacher raises or other priorities.
The CFO reported total revenues of roughly $186 million and planned expenditures near $186.334 million, with an unassigned fund balance of about $62.9 million. She cited downward adjustments to federal SHARS reimbursements and said interest revenue and some federal sources are lower than anticipated.
Board members asked for plain calculations connecting attendance to lost revenue and heard that the district already projects staffing allocations to match expected FTEs. The district plans to present a balanced budget for adoption in June.
The public speakers asked the board to clarify specific replacement plans for wellness staff, to publicly report metrics on attendance, safety and classroom climate after changes, and to consider targeted investments to retain staff. The board did not adopt any immediate staffing reversal during the meeting; several formal agenda actions later in the evening addressed other personnel and school-organization matters.
The board is scheduled to consider budget adoption in June. The district indicated it will continue to adjust staffing allocations as final enrollment and attendance numbers are confirmed.
