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WESLACO ISD projects multimillion‑dollar shortfall; trustees press for clearer accounting
Summary
At a board workshop, district staff presented preliminary figures showing a reduced 2025–26 operating deficit and a projected 2026–27 shortfall; trustees pressed for clearer presentation of how insurance, bond interest and land‑sale proceeds affect fund balance.
WESLACO ISD officials on Monday evening told the Board of Trustees that preliminary, unaudited figures show the district narrowing its 2025–26 projected operating shortfall from about $17.7 million to roughly $14.7 million, while a proposed 2026–27 budget built on a 14,000 average daily attendance estimate currently shows a preliminary deficit near $15 million.
Didi Rodriguez, the district budget presenter, said the reduction for 2025–26 reflects nonrecurring items the district expects to record this year, including a prior‑period reclassification of bond interest and an Ag Farm land‑sale contract the district will recognize as revenue. “Right now, we’re looking at projected numbers…just a deficit of 14.7 as opposed to the 17.7,” Rodriguez said.
Why it matters: trustees said the public deserves a clear presentation of how those accounting adjustments affect the district’s true cash position and program capacity. Trustee Mark Delos Santos said some items—notably an estimated $4.5 million insurance shortfall—are recorded in other funds and, when taken together with fund transfers and prior‑period adjustments, make the district’s total negative impact appear larger. “So realistically, your impact to fund balance at the end of the day is gonna be technically…$21,493,935,” Delos Santos said, arguing the materials could understate the full picture if readers focus only on the general‑fund operating deficit.
District finance staff responded that some entries are prior‑period adjustments or recorded in other funds and therefore are displayed differently in the general‑fund operating statement, but acknowledged the board can present the information in alternative ways for public clarity. “That’s why they haven’t technically put it into the revenue and expenses,” a member of the finance team said, explaining how a prior‑period bond reclassification affects reported revenues versus cash/fund‑balance presentation.
Trustees pressed staff for detail on the district’s payroll burden and planned reductions: board materials showed estimated salaries around $160 million and preliminary revenues after excluding on‑behalf items near $169 million, a ratio Delos Santos summarized as roughly 95 cents of every dollar going to payroll. Trustees asked staff to quantify expected savings from attrition and from department‑level reductions; staff said attrition savings to date are about $6.1 million but that analyses remain in progress.
Staff said the district projects an unaudited fund balance of about $57 million (roughly 112 days) on July 1, 2026, and reiterated that all numbers presented are preliminary until the external audit is complete in November. Rodriguez said the district will use nonrecurring reserve days and the bond interest reclassification to reduce the 2026–27 shortfall while seeking recurring solutions.
Next steps: the board is scheduled to hold a public budget hearing and consider budget adoption on June 22; staff committed to provide trustees a clearer, line‑item presentation of the combined impacts on fund balance before that meeting.
