As a budget season colored by uncertainty nears its close, Round Rock ISD administrators provided updates on its financial planning process based on legislation passed in June.

What you need to know

In a June 3 update, Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez, Chief Financial Officer Dennis Covington and Chief of Human Resources Eddie Curran provided two potential scenarios for what the 2025-26 fiscal year could look like, after the Texas Legislature reached an agreement on an $8.5 billion school funding deal in May.

The main school funding bill, House Bill 2, signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on June 4, provides specific pay increases for teachers with three or more years of experience, as well as support staff.

The details

Trustees approved the district's compensation plan, absent board Secretary Amber Landrum, which includes the following changes in accordance with HB 2:

• Increasing starting teacher salary to $56,750 from $56,500
• Providing a general pay increase of $610 to eligible teachers with one to two years of experience
• Eligible teachers with three to four years of experience will receive a general pay increase of $2,500
• Teachers eligible for pay increases with five or more years of experience will receive a general pay increase of $5,000

Nonteachers, such as employees on the instructional support, administrative support, operations support, technology, instructional exempt, business exempt and police pay structures, will receive a 1% general pay increase at the midpoint of their salary structures, Curran said. Librarians, who in previous school years were on the same pay structure as teachers, will be separated into their own pay structure, he said.

Additionally, nonteacher salary structures will be frozen at the 2024-25 level.

When it comes to the district's operating budget, Covington said district staff prepared a proposed budget of $478.8 million in revenue paired with $479.9 million in expenditures, creating a $1.08 million shortfall for the 2025-26 school year. RRISD is also planning a debt service budget of $106.13 million in revenue and $105.6 million in expenditures.

These budgets, which are used to fund operations and pay district debts like bonds, are predicated on a total property tax rate of $0.8931 per $100 of valuation. This is made up of the $0.7101 maintenance and operations rate, which goes toward the general fund, and $0.183 interest and sinking rate, which is used for debt service.

The shortfall is a significant reduction from projections shared earlier this year, in which the district estimated a $16 million shortfall for the 2025-26 financial year.

What they're saying

Covington and Curran shared that they expect the $1.08 million to be recovered through lapsed salaries, if open positions in the district are not filled. However, the district will still work to fill these positions, Curran said.

"Our goal is to fill every position in the district," Curran said. "... At any point, we have 6,400 employees in the district. It's not just classroom positions. It could be anywhere. We're confident that that number would not be insurmountable."

What's next?

Trustees will vote on the 2025-26 budget June 17, Azaiez said.