A local parent expressed concerns about how Fort Worth ISD is spending money as the school system deals with financial difficulties due to decreasing enrollment and low student achievement.
“I think it is disappointing that Fort Worth ISD is not being careful with their money and is not being honest about how they will fix the budget problems. Instead of attracting more families and cutting wasteful spending, they are spending even more on woke consultant fees, unnecessary lawsuits, and bad policy,” district parent Jennifer Crossland recently stated The Dallas Express.
Fort Worth ISD is evaluating whether it will have a balanced budget for the 2024-2025 school year.
Superintendent Angelica Ramsey sent an email to staff in February of this year about budget and staff reductions. Payroll made up 82% of the district’s budget for the 2023-2024 school year, totaling $690.2 million out of the $846.8 million annual budget.
Enrollment decline, expiring COVID relief funds in September, and an anticipated budget deficit for the 2024-2025 school year were cited as reasons for the cuts. The 2023-2024 school year budget had a $45 million deficit, as reported by KERA News.
On April 23, the Fort Worth ISD school board listened to a staff presentation about the next school year’s budget, which focused mainly on anticipated “revenue.”
“We are still working through the spending side of the proposed budget,” said Cesar Padilla, communications coordinator for Fort Worth ISD, per Fort Worth Report.
A presentation on spending will be discussed at a May 14 school board budget workshop.
The district’s chief finance officer, Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria, mentioned that it could take two years for Fort Worth ISD to achieve a balanced budget, as stated by FWR.
Arrieta-Candelaria anticipates the district will return an estimated $7.4 million to the state under the recapture law. Last school year, the ISD returned $2.3 million to the state.
DX contacted Arrieta-Candelaria and Ramsey but did not receive a response by publication.
As previously reported by DX, Dallas ISD is also dealing with a budget deficit. The district’s budget for next year is projected to have a $186 million shortfall.
Both school systems, the two largest in North Texas, have recorded poor student achievement scores in recent years. Fort Worth ISD saw only 32% of its students score at grade level on the STAAR exam during the 2021-2022 school year, according to the latest Texas Education Agency accountability report.
For its part, Dallas ISD saw only 41% of students score at grade level. The state average was 48% that school year.
Fort Worth ISD surpassed Dallas ISD in terms of on-time graduation, achieving a rate of 85.7%, while nearly 20% of Dallas ISD’s graduating Class of 2022 did not graduate on time. Statewide, the average on-time graduation rate was 90%.
