School districts say state funding not enough for 'day-to-day' needs

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A bill that aims to bring in $8.5 billion to public education is poised to become law if signed by Governor Greg Abbott.

House Bill 2 will give schools more money for teacher and staff salaries, special education, and early childhood learning.

In the Rio Grande Valley, some districts say that although this funding is a plus, it is not flexible enough to address day-to-day needs.

Brownsville Independent School District Superintendent Jesus Chavez said this bill sets parameters on how funding can be used.

Therefore, it will not be enough to cover things like new A/C units and roof maintenance. Something Chavez said is crucial for his district.

"Keep in mind that there are other things we need to use dollars for," said Chavez. "Yes, we offer great instruction, and we have great teachers, but how is our roof doing? It's leaking."

The bill would provide districts with a $55 per-student increase to their base funding.

Chavez said in the past two legislative sessions, it's been challenging to get funding, so this bill is a win.

Interim Superintendent Alicia Noyola with the Mercedes Independent School District says the bill will bring in more dollars than the district has received for a while. However, it still falls short.

"The place where it falls short is that it doesn't provide us with funds to address day-to-day operations," said Noyola. "And that is where our school districts deal more on a daily basis."

Noyola said this automatically pushes districts to carefully budget with the flexible funding available.

Abbott has until June 22nd to sign House Bill 2 into law.