Bryan ISD school board members continue discussing inaction by state lawmakers regarding public school funding

This podcast contains comments from the May 5, 2025 Bryan ISD school board meeting.Bryan ISD school board members continue discussing inaction by state lawmakers regarding public school funding.Monday's discussion (May 5) about state funding as part of attempting to develop a budget for the 2025-26 school year came two days after the governor signed legislation giving state money to private schools.That led BISD board member Ruthie Waller to say "Our devoted teachers and staff, everybody that works in the district, we're one of the only careers that signs a contract and has no idea what they're going to be making."Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the May 5, 2025 Bryan ISD school board meeting.Assistant superintendent Kevin Beesaw said the state senate is talking about not giving as much money compared to what passed the house.Beesaw said Senate Bill 26 does not give state money to teachers with zero to two years experience, and does not give state money to staff members such as instructional aides, bus drivers, custodians, and food service employees..."all of those kinds of things that are necessary to run schools."Superintendent Ginger Carrabine says "we have begged the lawmakers" to consider base state funding on enrollment instead of average daily attendance. Carrabine says with BISD's current average daily attendance rate at 94 percent, providing state funding based on enrollment would give the district an additional $7 million dollars. By comparison, Beesaw said state funding of charter schools is based on enrollment and he does not expect state funding of private schools to be based on average daily attendance.Administrators also told BISD board members that due to no action at the state level, and in consultation with the Texas Association of School Boards, there is not enough information at this time to make any recommendations regarding compensation or possible retention stipends for the 2025-2026 school year.