District begins 2024-25 budget process

Trustees examine budget challenges and remain focused on prioritizing resources closest to the classroom

The Midlothian ISD Board of Trustees kicked off the 2024-25 budget planning process at its March 5 workshop with a review and discussion focused on three areas: 1) school finance basics and the district’s longstanding reputation for strong fiscal management, 2) changes in MISD’s current year revenue and 3) budget assumptions for the 2024-25 budget cycle.

Superintendent Dr. David Belding opened the meeting by setting the focus of the workshop. “As we begin the budgeting process, we are reminded that all the budget numbers we talk about in our workshops represent our students, our staff, our parents and our community,” said Belding. 

Belding also provided an overview of school funding and discussed how the state’s funding formula process, which is year-round, is ever-evolving and constantly adjusting throughout any given school year. He shared that MISD is experiencing a reduction in actual revenue for the current 2023-24 fiscal year compared to what was projected. 

The district adopted a balanced budget last fall and throughout the budget year, MISD expenditures have remained within the approved budget. “What we are experiencing is a revenue issue,” said Belding. “Revenues did not meet projections and so we are making mid-year adjustments.”

Contributing factors include reductions in federal funding and the slowdown in the DFW housing market that impacted enrollment growth and resulted in projected 2023-24 enrollment not fully materializing. Enrollment has grown in comparison to last year, just not as much as projections showed. Additional factors compounding the loss in revenue are rising inflation costs, increased costs in the area of safety and security measures (which MISD remains committed to implementing), and *basic allotment within the state’s funding formula going unchanged since 2019.

District leaders have begun to identify about $1.2 million in administrative savings for the current year. Leadership across the district is actively analyzing budgets to find additional immediate savings with a goal to more closely align expenditures to actual revenue. Efforts include examining needs for next year and identifying potential future savings. 

Looking ahead, trustees reviewed anticipated operational costs for the 2024-25 fiscal year. MISD estimates operational expenditures like fuel, electricity, insurance, safety and security, and growth in Special Education will continue to increase in the 2024-25 fiscal year costing the district an additional $1.7 million compared to current year expenditures. To fill the anticipated inflation gap, the district is implementing a strategic approach to budget planning focused on efficiency. 

Strategies include aligning staffing levels to enrollment projections, conservatively projecting student growth at only a 1.5% increase above current actual enrollment, and optimizing resource allocations by only filling positions identified as critical. The district anticipates some cost savings through natural attrition and is not considering layoffs. “We value every staff member and affirm our commitment to ensuring any staffing adjustments occur solely through attrition," stated Belding.

The district already operates within a very lean staffing model. A comparison with similar districts shows that MISD maintains staffing levels well below market averages, particularly for non-teaching roles. District pay scales also fall below the market average in compensation. MISD acknowledged that with 83% of the district’s budget allocated toward personnel expenditures, it will be challenging for the district to make significant budget reductions when it already runs on a very lean staffing model. 

“We have to make some tough decisions during this budget cycle,” said Belding. “The classroom is at the center of everything we do and we want to protect the student experience as much as possible. We are committed to keeping any reductions as far away from the classroom and student experience as much as possible,” said Belding. 

Throughout the budget workshop, trustees and district leadership continued to express their commitment to focus on improving staff compensation. Trustees reviewed salary raise models outlining potential pay increases for the 2024-25 school year and provided feedback that administration will use to prepare salary models for an upcoming budget workshop.

“This is the best budget presentation we have had in my seven years on the board,” said MISD Board President Tami Tobey. “With the lower than projected enrollment revenue, the decline in federal funding, safety and security expenditures, and inflation, coupled with the nuances of the state funding system for schools, tonight’s information will help us as we carefully and thoughtfully consider our options to adopt the best budget we can given the current revenue reductions and anticipated increases in next year’s operational expenditures.”     

*Basic Allotment: The Texas basic allotment is a foundational component of the state's school finance system, representing the minimum amount of funding allocated per student. It serves as the starting point for calculating state funding to school districts, with adjustments made based on factors such as district size, demographics, and special programs.