Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Superintendent Jim Chadwell is in a position other school district leaders envy.
A deluge of new houses are inbound. More residents. More students. More new schools.
The downside, Chadwell said, is clear: state funding cannot keep up with his booming district.
Growing districts are among the most impacted by the Texas Legislature not increasing public education funding in 2023, according to a Texas A&M University school finance expert. The others? Small districts in urban areas and rural school systems.
All three types of districts face similar challenges, said Lori Taylor, a professor at The Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M.
“Districts that were tightly funded to begin with have very little slack that they can tap into to cover their rising costs when their level of funding remains unchanged,” she said.
The state provides $6,160 in base funding for every student who attends classes. The Legislature last increased per-student funding in 2019, when legislators approved a sweeping school finance law.
Districts receive additional state dollars based on other factors, such as demographics or special education.
Inflation-adjusted per-student funding is down from 2014, according to Texas Education Agency data.
At the same time, expenses — from food and school supplies to gas and construction materials — for school districts are higher because of inflation.
Inflation, Taylor said, is the issue.
And that’s before dealing with wages, which often form the bulk of school budgets, and Fort Worth-area districts increase wages annually to stay competitive.
Smaller districts, like Lake Worth and Castleberry ISDs, are sensitive to small changes in costs, Taylor said.
“The smaller districts frequently don’t have as much wiggle room or ability to adjust in their budget,” she said. “They’re definitely vulnerable to this.”
The situation is more complicated for growing school districts.
First, Taylor said, the state’s funding formula does not keep up with their growth, and districts are estimating enrollments based on previous trends.
Enrollment is the basis for school budgets.
Getting that number right is tricky, the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD superintendent said. The district expected 650 new students during the 2023-24 school year — and fell short.
“All of a sudden that creates inefficiencies,” Chadwell said.
For the 2024-25 school year, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD plans to use more conservative enrollment projections.
On the other hand, Taylor said, booming districts also tend to have a growing tax base — a sort of double-edged sword.
“They have the benefit that the funding formula doesn’t realize — or doesn’t recognize — how much their revenues have increased from one period to the next,” Taylor said. “Growing districts are complicated.”
Put another way: “A lot depends on whether your enrollment is growing faster than your tax base or vice versa,” Taylor said.
Crowley ISD is feeling what Taylor described. Like Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD, Crowley ISD is growing. However, laws further compressing the property tax rate and adding new homestead exemptions and freezes have cut into the district’s budget, already smaller and in deficit because of fewer state dollars.
“In case you’re wondering, it is raining in the school system. It’s not one of those natural storms. This is a man-made, politically made storm,” Superintendent Michael McFarland said during an early June meeting.
Large urban districts? They’re better off than most, according to the Texas A&M professor.
“Their size and economies of scale gives them some flexibility unavailable to smaller districts and that buffers them,” Taylor said.
For Chadwell, his district has to keep moving forward. Plans for new schools are being drafted. The district’s newest high school, Eagle Mountain High, is set to open in August. Students have to learn.
“We are frustrated because our core business is serving children in classrooms,” the superintendent said.
To accomplish that, his district — like many others — is cutting the budget and planning deficits to serve students and meet the state’s requirements.
The area that won’t be touched? Classrooms, Chadwell said.
Jacob Sanchez is a senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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