Spring Branch ISD Featured News

On Monday, June 24, the Spring Branch ISD Board of Trustees unanimously voted to approve a $362.7 million FY25 General Fund budget that reflects the difficult decisions made over the past year to reduce $35 million in general fund expenditures through the elimination of 305.5 positions, closure of schools, restructure or elimination of programs across the district, and reductions in campus and central budgets. 

These reductions follow cuts of $24 million in ESSER related expenditures, elimination of 123 ESSER funded positions and cuts of ten percent or more to central office department budgets for the FY24 budget.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jennifer Blaine noted the past year has been the most difficult of her 23 years in Spring Branch ISD. “With no action to adequately fund public education by the 88th Legislature through their regular session and four subsequent special sessions last summer and fall, coupled with the district’s Chapter 49 status which required SBISD to send $80 million in local taxpayer funds the state last August, SBISD was the first district in the region to announce the significant budget cuts we are now seeing happen across our region and state. While some in our community questioned the type of cuts we made and the timing of announcements, a recent article in the Houston Chronicle affirmed more than $850 million in budget shortfalls and related budget cuts have recently been announced by area districts.”

Dr. Blaine stated, “We thank our employees and community members for their understanding over this challenging year as we had to make the most difficult decisions in district history to maintain financial stability. We have done our best to minimize the impact on our classrooms while continuing to focus limited resources on our district priorities: literacy, numeracy, student supports, safety and security, English Learners and Career and Technical education.”

To ensure the district retains and attracts the excellent educators and staff our community expects and our students deserve, the budget includes a 4 percent raise for all employees. This raise follows this past year when SBISD employees did not receive any pay increase as the district faced down significant budget challenges. 

“We thank our employees who stayed with us over the past year, despite no pay increase. The 4 percent increase for the 2024-25 school year returns the district to a competitive pay structure. The budget also includes on average a fifty percent cost share investment by the district in health insurance premium cost increases. We thank our Board of Trustees for their commitment to and investment in our employees,” noted Dr. Blaine.

Board President Lisa Alpe affirmed the Board’s appreciation for SBISD employees, stating, “We recognize the inflationary impacts on our employees, and echo Dr. Blaine’s sentiments of gratitude for those that stayed in the district last year despite no pay increase. Our employees already go above and beyond on behalf of our students, and we know all staff are being asked to do more with less in the year ahead. We thank all members of the SBISD Family for their hard work in and out of the classroom on behalf of our children.”

Estimates from Harris Central Appraisal District show an increase in taxable value of 1.4 percent, which is reflected in tax revenue. However, the recapture payment is estimated to increase almost 80 percent. The district anticipates recapture payments will continue to rise despite property tax relief. 

The district proudly retains the highest Superlative rating in the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), the state’s school financial accountability rating system.

Board Vice President Courtney Anderson, who also serves as a board legislative liaison, stated, “With the 89th Legislative Session set to begin next January, and with over a $20 billion state surplus still remaining, our community’s advocacy will be more important than ever. The children of SBISD will always remain our bottom line.”