Houston Independent School District Chief Financial Officer Rene Barajas on May 2 presented a proposed budget to Board of Education trustees for the 2019-2020 school year. 

The proposed budget is based on current law and includes a $36 million deficit. This deficit is arrived at by estimating several key variables, the most important of which include property values, student enrollment, and recapture obligations. 

Under this proposal, the campus per unit allocation, or PUA, would not be cut by $73, and there would be no cuts to schools or departments. However, this does not prevent departments from reorganizing.  The budget proposal does not include pay increases or step increases for any employee group. 

Barajas said with the continued uncertainty of legislative actions affecting school finance for 2019-20, the most prudent course of action is to present for adoption the 2019-20 budget developed using current law.  

“Once we have a school finance bill that spells out education funding for the next biennium, we can bring back to the board of trustees an amended 2019-20 budget taking into account any legislatively mandated expenditures and other administrative recommendations based on the availability of discretionary funds, this could include possible salary increases for employee groups.” Barajas said.   

The district continues to monitor school finance bills and any other legislation that would affect funding over the next biennium. Once the impact of the final school finance bill is determined as well as what resources might be available, district administration would bring back an amended budget in September to the Board of Education. 

The HISD Board of Education will vote on the adoption of the 2019-2020 budget during its regular monthly meeting on June 19.