BRENHAM ISD ON TRACK TO KEEP BUILDING UP FUND BALANCE
shares fund balance trends and future projections with
Brenham ISD trustees on Monday.
Financial projections presented at the latest Brenham School Board meeting show Brenham ISD administrators are optimistic about the district’s outlook.
Chief Financial Officer Darrell St. Clair told trustees on Monday that while final numbers are still a ways off from being set in stone, he expects the district will be able to add roughly $1 million back into its fund balance at the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Monday's Brenham School Board meeting shows
Brenham ISD's fund balance in past fiscal years and
projections for future years. (click to enlarge)
The district’s ending fund balance for the 2024-25 fiscal year was $5.96 million, up from $3.77 million to start out the year, a low mark that Superintendent Clay Gillentine described as where the district made a “hard pivot”.
St. Clair showed the board a graph showing audited fund balance figures dating back to 2019 and estimates as far ahead as 2029. If Brenham ISD keeps up its current trends, he said by that time, the district should be able to meet the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) benchmark for minimum fund balance, though he cautioned that expected increases in expenditures and any changes instituted by lawmakers will play a role in how much the district is able to hold onto.
During a budget workshop earlier this month, the board outlined priorities of continuing to build the district’s fund balance back up, restoring personnel positions and improving employee pay.
Board Secretary Kelvin Raven said he is glad to hear the district is on the right track and that it needs to prioritize giving all employees a raise for the next school year. Gillentine said he feels very comfortable in the district’s ability to provide raises, and that it will just be a matter of how “aggressive” the board wants to be on that front. He said those conversations will continue next month.