South San Antonio Independent School District will tap into the state’s “disaster pennies” program to unlock $3 million in their budget for one-time expenses.
Taken over by the state in February after a Texas Education Agency investigation found the district’s elected board members mismanaged funds and violated governing procedures, the Southside district faces a multi-million dollar budget deficit during a state legislative session that’s been slow to pass a public school funding bill.
Though school districts have not seen an increase in base funding from the state since 2019, districts in areas declared as disaster areas by Gov. Greg Abbott are allowed to levy additional taxes for a singular tax year for discretionary spending. The one-time tax increase is paid for by the state, not the school district’s taxpayers.
For every local tax dollar collected, the state puts in the extra cents requested by the school district.
During a regular board meeting Monday night, South San ISD’s chief financial officer Tony Kingman recommended that the appointed board of managers approve a resolution to adopt a 3-cent increase under the Tier II tax effort of the state’s tax code.
“With the legislative session still underway and key funding decisions pending, this resolution provides flexibility while protecting the district’s financial stability,” Kingman told the board.
Kingman also suggested using disaster pennies to fund one-time expenditures, such as bonuses, raises, recruiting efforts and district purchases.
“We are aware that the disaster planning cannot continue forever.”
Only school districts within counties affected by extreme weather conditions can use the tax measure, which for South San ISD will go into effect Sept. 1, ending Aug. 1, 2026.
Abbott issued a disaster declaration for Bexar County on Oct. 14.
On March 4, Abbott amended and renewed the October proclamation certifying states of disaster in certain counties based on the existence of wildfires posing “an imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury or the loss of life and property.”
The following day, two separate wildfires sparked on the South Side of Bexar County, causing local officials to call for mandatory evacuations and deeming six homes a total loss.
Overall, the two wildfires burned more than 500 acres of land in primarily rural stretches of the county.
South San ISD has used disaster pennies before, the district’s state-appointed superintendent Saul Hinojosa said, calling them an “innovative way to bring about $3 million” for the district.
“We have been able to pay incentives to recruit,” Hinojosa said about the tax increase program. “So it has worked, and we’ve been able to purchase buses and things like that.”
The 1979 law that allows school districts to use disaster pennies, which is only activated when Abbott declare a state of disaster in their specific counties, does not specify or limit what school districts can use those funds on.
Under the current tax rates, qualifying school districts can raise taxes by 1 to 5 cents without voter approval.
Last year in June, largely rural Judson Independent School District activated the disaster pennies program to cut its budget deficit by $12 million, citing a severe storm and separate disaster proclamation.
At the time, school board trustee Monica Ryan questioned why the district would approve the tax resolution since Judson ISD’s facilities experienced little to no storm damage.
Similarly, no significant damage was reported by South San ISD in connection to the recent wildfires.
In a different effort to save money, South San ISD will submit a “low attendance days waiver” to the Texas Education Agency for school days missed by students due to weather, health or safety-related issues.
Since public school funding is based on student attendance, low attendance would negatively impact the district’s budget. If South San ISD’s waiver is approved by the TEA, the state would not include low attendance days in its funding calculations.
Adopting the disaster pennies measure is a “smart” move for the district, said state-appointed board member Aurelia Prado.
“It doesn’t leave money on the table,” Prado said before the board unanimously approved the measure. “This is basically free money that we’re getting from the state without having to tax our local residents.”
