San Antonio Independent School District board of trustees adopted a $541.1 million budget for the 2025-26 school year.
The budget, district officials said, does not account for recently passed state legislation that could impact public school funding. Trustees also adopted a $46.6 million deficit during the June 24 board meeting, which is $4.4 million less than the district’s 2024-25 budget shortfall.
Dottie Carreon, the district’s chief financial officer, said the board is expected to amend the budget once the interpretation and implementation details of House Bill 2 are “firmed up” by the Texas Education Agency.
“We’re continuing to budget conservatively,” she explained.
Carreon also expects the district’s budget deficit, which has already shrunk since the last fiscal year, to be smaller after getting money from the state.
HB 2, an $8.5 billion public school funding bill, prioritizes teacher raises for classroom instructors with three or more years of experience. Under the bill, school districts have to follow the state’s direction on how to use the funding for the most part.
Additionally, Senate Bill 4 and Senate Bill 23 could increase the homestead exemption for disabled and elderly residents, limiting the revenue school districts can collect through their tax rates. Both bills are contingent on voter approval in November.
SAISD expects to receive about $24.5 million from the state under HB 2, — a very conservative estimate — and is on the hook for $2.1 million to cover the cost of implementing mandatory teacher raises.
After accounting for state mandated teacher raises, the district will be left with roughly $14 million in state dollars, which it can apply to its budget deficit and other discretionary costs.
The 2025-26 budget also includes a $14 million compensation package the district approved in April to raise wages for teachers, paraprofessionals and auxiliary personnel. Since HB 2 mandates raises for teachers with three or more years of experience, the district’s budget excludes the cost of raises for those positions.
SAISD still plans to go through with raises for other positions, including raising starting teacher pay to $60,000 and increase salaries for teachers with one or two years of experience by 3%.
Overall, the district plans to spend about $21.5 million on raises for the upcoming school year.
Even though enrollment at the district has been steadily declining in the past few years, leading to the closure and consolidation of several campuses, the 2025-26 budget was made with the assumption that SAISD’s enrollment might increase by about 100 students.
Newly-elected trustee Mike Villarreal said he was concerned the budget didn’t address the “root” issue of declining enrollment or rising inflation.
“The primary reason we’re in a structural deficit is because of our declining enrollment,” Villarreal said. “Declining enrollment undercuts all of our aspirational goals.”
Superintendent Jaime Aquino explained that initially planning for more students than necessary was easier than being short on space and teachers after the first day of school.
Some trustees also expressed concern that SAISD enrollment could suffer as other school districts — Northside ISD in particular — take more aggressive steps to market open enrollment and school choice programs.
Last week, Northside ISD announced its “Excellence Without Boundaries” program, allowing any student in the greater San Antonio Area to apply to enroll at any of the district’s schools.
SAISD has its own school choice program, but district officials expect to lose some students to NISD, especially students who live near the two districts’ shared boundaries.
“It is incumbent upon us to figure how to play in the sandbox where everybody is pretty much fighting for the same resources,” trustee Alicia Sebastian said.
As for inflation, Carreon said the budget accounts for rising costs on variable costs only, like pay inflation, insurance rates, energy and building materials. Spending in other areas like school supplies and field trips have remained stagnant.
The district has already made steps to address budget woes during the 2024-25 cycle by cutting central office staff, reducing campus budgets and cutting operation costs, Aquino added.
Villarreal, a former state representative, said he hopes the board can reimagine the budget process to prioritize “student outcomes” moving forward.
