Houston ISD board meeting, date not confirmed yet
7 public speakers
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What happened
What happened at this meeting
Houston ISD board reviews draft budget, approves closed session personnel agenda 27:47
- The board heard public comment from registered speakers, who raised concerns about special education changes and a waiver of the superintendent's certification requirement. 2:41
- The superintendent presented a draft budget with estimated expenditures of $2,037,000,000 and estimated revenue of $2,036,000,000, and said the board is expected to vote on the budget in June. 28:16
- Speakers asked about the district's fund balances and electricity and water costs, and a presenter said employee health insurance contributions are likely to go up. 45:05
- After a closed session, a motion to approve the closed session personnel agenda passed. 1:51:46
Item by item (8)
- Opening and agenda change 2:37
- Public comment 2:41
- A speaker at public comment questioned capping campus budget increases at 4% and adding $500 more per student at spotlight campuses. 11:12
- Several speakers at public comment raised concerns about moving students with disabilities to hub schools and cited a federal civil rights investigation of the district. 13:37
- Several speakers at public comment asked the board not to waive the superintendent certification requirement. 19:04
- Draft budget overview 27:47
- The superintendent said total estimated revenue is $2,036,000,000, with federal grants of about $177 million on top, about $18 to $19 million less than last year. 34:15
- The superintendent said the draft raises the minimum wage for hourly employees from 15 to 17 and includes salary increases for central office. 37:45
- A district budget staff member said the general fund shows a deficit of $790,000 and the debt service fund would draw down fund balance by about $27 million. 39:49
- Questions on funds and utility costs 43:43
- Marty Goossen asked whether the district covers any food services costs from local sources, and a staff member said federal reimbursement is a per meal allocation. 43:47
- A staff member said state guidance is 3 months of operating revenue for the general fund and that $550 million is a good number. 45:22
- A staff member said the district's 7-year electricity contract was $35 per megawatt-hour and a new contract looks to run $50 to $60. 49:18
- School budget methodology 50:24
- A presenter said school allocations will now use state-defined weights for the students actually enrolled at each school. 50:24
- A presenter said the pilot of 9 Future 2 schools is estimated to cost about $500,000 more per school, or $4.5 million. 58:21
- Angela Lemond Flowers asked whether the Future II amount is a start-up cost, and a presenter said it is to get started. 1:09:29
- Central office budgets and devices 1:14:07
- A presenter said central office cuts this year will probably be between 300 and 350 employees, with spending going from $619 to $604 million. 1:15:36
- A presenter said the district is putting an inventory system in place for Chromebooks and checking warranties. 1:22:07
- Ric Campo said school allocation comparisons and related data would be released to the public. 1:27:26
- Employee health insurance 1:28:36
- A presenter said the district contributes approximately $671 per employee per month and the health fund forecast projects an approximately $25 million deficit. 1:29:26
- The presenter said employee contributions are likely to go up and the administration is proposing a 4% general pay increase and a $17 per hour minimum wage. 1:34:49
- The presenter said no changes would go into effect until January of 2027. 1:35:16
- Closed session and personnel action 1:40:03
Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.
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