Школам Виктории утвердят бюджет на 163,3 млн долларов при снижении штата и доходов от штата

VISD weighs lower operating costs Published 7:00 pm Friday, August 14, 2026 Victoria Independent School District trustees are scheduled to hold a public hearing Aug. 27 on a proposed 2026-27 budget that includes about $163.3 million in spending across the district’s operating, debt service and food service funds. No budget or tax rate has been adopted. Trustees previously approved the required public notice for the Aug. 27 hearing. The proposal includes a balanced $135.37 million maintenance and operations budget, $18.58 million for debt service and $9.32 million for food service. During an Aug. 6 special board meeting, Chief Financial Officer Michelle Yates told trustees the operating budget was built around a projected enrollment of 12,240 students. Declining enrollment, changes in student funding formulas and fewer students qualifying for certain state funding have contributed to lower revenues. Operating budget decreases The proposed $135.37 million maintenance and operations budget is down from $144.53 million in expenditures in the district’s adopted 2025-26 budget. Unlike the current budget, which anticipated using about $4.87 million in fund balance, the proposed 2026-27 budget has revenues matching expenditures. During the Aug. 6 meeting, Yates credited districtwide right-sizing efforts and operational efficiencies with helping VISD balance its budget. She said most reductions over the past two years occurred in central office positions, while campus staffing decisions focused on maintaining class-size goals, required courses and student programs. Superintendent Sheila Collazo said during the meeting that the district reduced expenditures by about $4 million while still providing employee raises, including a $1.25-per-hour increase for classified and paraprofessional employees. Instruction remains the largest proposed expenditure at approximately $73.73 million. Facilities maintenance and operations would decrease from about $19.8 million to $16.43 million, while transportation would fall from approximately $6.95 million to $5.08 million. State funding declines VISD projects approximately $55.52 million in local revenue, up from about $54.85 million in the current budget. Local property tax revenue is expected to increase from approximately $51.13 million to $52.47 million. State revenue, however, is projected to decline from about $84.51 million to $79.35 million. Foundation School Program revenue accounts for much of the decline, falling from approximately $70.91 million to $65.48 million. Tax rate totals 91.8 cents The proposed maintenance and operations tax rate would remain unchanged at 69.69 cents per $100 of taxable value. The interest and sinking rate, which pays voter-approved bond debt, would increase to 22.11 cents. Together, the proposed rates would bring VISD’s total tax rate to 91.8 cents per $100 of taxable value. The proposed debt service budget totals approximately $18.58 million, up from roughly $10.07 million budgeted for 2025-26. VISD proposes paying $9.92 million in bond principal and about $8.66 million in interest. Yates told trustees Aug. 6 that the district will not need to use its fund balance for debt payments and expects to maintain nearly $8 million in debt service reserves. Food service remains balanced VISD’s proposed food service budget totals approximately $9.32 million in revenues and expenditures, down from about $9.9 million in the current budget. The district expects approximately $8.62 million in federal revenue, $664,000 in local revenue and $35,000 in state funding. Yates said the decrease is connected to declining enrollment and fewer students qualifying as economically disadvantaged. The program is funded primarily through federal reimbursements and is not expected to require a transfer from the district’s general operating fund. Trustees are expected to receive public input and consider adopting the 2026-27 budget and tax rate Aug. 27. Jakob Gurley is a multimedia journalist with the Victoria Advocate. He can be reached at [email protected].