VISD board members workshop budget in hopes of narrowing annual deficit

VICTORIA, Texas - School board members met late into the evening Thursday to discuss several information items and to workshop the 2024-2025 budget.

The board meeting was moved from its usual venue at the VISD administration building to the VISD Fine Arts Center because the administration building is undergoing repairs to its HVAC system.

The meeting adjourned around 1:30 a.m. Friday, said VISD board president Mike Mercer over the phone Friday morning.

During the budget workshop portion of the meeting, the board discussed devoting 85 percent of its budget to employee salaries. Currently between 74 and 76 percent of the district's budget is dedicated to salaries. The proposed increase came out of a community meeting held earlier this year.

Mercer said, the newly-proposed increase would leave a little over $10 million for, "everything else."

The district will be closer to its goal of a $2.5 million budgetary deficit with 85 percent of the requested funds from the fine arts and athletic departments; 75 percent of requested funds from all other departments.

"We've got a lot of work to do," Mercer said. "It doesn't help that we're facing a 12 to 13 percent increase from inflation."

The board president said he's hoping to see an increase in the student allocation funds received from the state. The allotment per student from the state hasn't changed since 2019, Mercer said.

"We're hoping the state decides to let go of that surplus they have and gives it to public schools," Mercer said.

In other business, the board received a facilities report, which included the outfitting of the custodial staff with equipment needed to make small fixes, like unclogging toilets and replacing ceiling tiles, without the assistance of specialized maintenance staff.

"That way they [the specialized maintenance staff] can focus on the big-ticket items," Mercer said.

An inventory of facility assets is also in the works for the formation of a long-term plan, Mercer said.

The board also met in closed session to go through a legal checklist of tasks needed to be completed as part of the ongoing superintendent search.

Quintin Shepherd resigned from his position as superintendent earlier this year to take on the role of superintendent at Pflugerville ISD. Randy Meyer, deputy superintendent for the district, is now serving as the interim superintendent.

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