GREENWOOD, Texas (KOSA) – Financial challenges are leaving Greenwood ISD in a tough position.
District officials say the issues stem from policy failures in Austin dating back to 2019.
In 2019, the 86th Texas legislature passed House Bill 3, a school finance overhaul of 11.6 billion dollars.
It provided significant funding for public classrooms, increased teacher compensation, and more, but that funding didn’t work for about 200 school districts including Greenwood.
Steve Jerden, Chief Financial Officer for Greenwood ISD, said “Also, the fund that pay raise, the state of Texas increased the basic allotment in the funding formulas. So, Greenwood and the state of Texas created what’s known as the Formula Transition Grant.”
The Formula Transition Grant was also put into place in 2019, in addition to House Bill 3.
The grant provided millions of dollars every year in state funding, including those teachers’ pay raises.
However, in August of 2024, the grant expired, leaving Greenwood ISD with a five-million-dollar gap and tough decisions ahead.
Jerden continued, “That issue coupled with the cost-of-living increases that we’ve seen over the last five years has caused the district to be our second year in a deficit budget situation.”
During the 89th legislative session, the Texas Senate passed House Bill 2, providing 8.5 billion dollars in new funding to public schools.
The funding included 4.2 billion dollars for teacher compensation and 500 million dollars for non-administrative staff pay raises like nurses, counselors, and librarians.
According to the district, they still aren’t fully funded despite the major funding.
Superintendent at Greenwood ISD, Ariel Elliot added, “They did give us more money, but they dictated how we spend it and so, it’s been a real headache to figure that out and try to keep our staff intact. It’s been a challenge being fully funded as they say and so, we have a lot of work to do.”
Currently, 60 percent of Greenwood ISD’s budget is going towards salaries and benefits.
District officials say every position is important, especially with the rising number of students coming through greenwood every year.
Debra Keel, Deputy Superintendent of Greenwood ISD, said “Everybody’s important. Every person’s important. Our custodians, our maintenance, bus drivers, our teachers, our secretarial staff. We feel like all of those are needed or we wouldn’t have those positions.”
Greenwood ISD says layoffs have not started yet, but they’ve offered an early notice incentive for resignations.
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