TASBO Survey: Nearly 63% of Texas Districts Expect to End FY 2025 in a Deficit

The Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO) this week released its second annual School Finance Survey of its members.

Some of the highlights:

• Roughly 42 percent of responding districts ended FY 2024 in a deficit, and nearly 63 percent estimate that FY 2025 will end in a deficit.
  
  
• 48 percent believe significant cuts may be in store in FY 2026.
  
  
• Growing property insurance costs was the most often cited hard to control cost.
  
  
• 42 percent do not anticipate giving raises without help from the Legislature. Another 48 percent think they would give a raise, but would need to fund it out of other cuts.
  
  
• Budget cutting ideas mentioned:
  • Reductions to overtime & substitute costs, elimination of resident substitutes.
  • Reductions to non-classroom support positions, reductions of assistant principals.
  • Consolidations of programs into one campus.
  • Moving instructional coaches back to classroom teaching assignments.
  • Elimination of underused subscription services.

A total of 195 responses from 190 districts were received, and those districts serve 47 percent of the state’s student enrollment.