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Waco ISD finance chief outlines fiscal impact of new Texas school funding law, flags staffing and benefits gaps
Summary
Chief financial officer Cheryl Davis told trustees the recent state law will raise some allotments but also lower local tax collections because of expanded exemptions; the district estimates a net revenue increase of roughly $7.2 million but will still face staffing and benefit cost pressures and a multi‑million dollar projected deficit.
Cheryl Davis, Waco ISD’s chief financial officer, briefed trustees on the local budget implications of recent state legislation — including teacher retention allotments, changes to special education funding, and expanded homestead and other exemptions.
"We did not get $8,500,000,000," Davis said at the meeting, summarizing how total statewide allocations landed differently than earlier expectations. She outlined the components of the new law: a teacher retention allotment (flat $2,500 or $5,000 for eligible teachers depending on experience), a support‑staff allotment, an early education allotment for full‑day pre‑K, and a special‑education funding redesign that will shift many dollars into the next fiscal year.
Davis estimated Waco ISD’s allotment for the teacher retention allotment at about $3.3 million and projected a district net increase of roughly $7.2 million once state aid and locally lost tax collections (driven by increased homestead exemptions) are combined. But she warned the district will still absorb benefit‑related costs (TRS and health benefits), and some portions of the new funds do not generate the district’s historic 'golden penny' guarantees, limiting local yield. She said the district remains contending with a structural deficit; after some value appeals and adjustments she estimated a remaining shortfall in the neighborhood of $6–7 million for the current projection cycle.
Board members asked clarifying questions about how the allotments will be delivered, which employees qualify, and whether the allotments must be applied to base salary (Davis confirmed they must be included on salary schedules and cannot be given only as stipends). Trustees also discussed how the district will manage coding of positions (PEIMS) to ensure it receives entitled allotments and how some funding will be earmarked for special programs.
Davis walked the board through potential salary scenarios and benefit impacts and outlined a tight calendar for final budget actions in July and August. She said district leaders will continue to refine revenue estimates as final property values and PEIMS coding are reconciled.
