House Bill 2, which passed on June 4, allocates $8.5 billion to public schools across Texas, including a $55 increase in the basic allotment per student and funding for teacher raises.
The El Paso Independent School District is set to benefit from this funding, but challenges remain.
Ross Moore, president of El Paso’s american federation of teachers, said, “There’s no such thing as a quick answer on House Bill two.”
The bill is designed to support special education, school safety improvements, and primarily teacher pay increases.
Jack Loveridge, vice president of the board of trustees of EPISD, expressed appreciation for the funding but noted that more is needed.
“It’s not where we need it to be. In terms of public education. We would always appreciate greater funding because that’s, quite frankly, what we’ve committed to do is to deliver on that promise of an education for every single Texan,” he said.
EPISD’s budget deficit, which was upwards of $30 million in October, is projected to decrease to $11.7 million after the implementation of House Bill 2.
Loveridge described this as “a very positive turn” and said it should ease concerns about the district’s financial outlook for 2026 and beyond.
Despite the funding, Moore criticized the proposed increase in teacher salaries, saying, “That’s barely inflation. Plus, they’re having their health care premiums increased by 15%. So this is not good.”
He also advocated for raises for other school employees, stating, “14 years as a classroom teacher, I assure you. All these other. I couldn’t do it by myself. It’s all these other people that kept a classroom functioning from custodians up through, God forbid I should say this, principals.”
Loveridge indicated that the district plans to cut unnecessary roles to balance the budget as closely as possible before the next board meeting.
“We should proceed with passing a budget that is as close to balance as possible on Wednesday next week,” he said.
During a meeting at the EPISD headquarters, taxpayers requested an itemized list of expenses to understand how funds are being allocated. The district stated it could provide such a list.
RECOMMENDED:
El Paso ISD to consider budget with multi-million dollar deficit for next school year
Sign up to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.
