The Canutillo Independent School District Board of Trustees voted 5-1 Wednesday to approve a balanced $65.8 million budget for the coming school year, after it cut costs and Texas lawmakers approved a public school funding boost under House Bill 2.
It is the first time Canutillo ISD’s budgeted expenses have not exceeded its revenue in four years.
Sergio Martinez was the lone trustee who voted against the budget.
Trustee Cindy Zuniga was absent.
The board also voted unanimously to increase the district’s monthly health plan contribution by $100 per employee to keep their health care premium cost intact and to adopt a new compensation plan that will give employees raises, except administrative staff.
“The adoption of a balanced budget is a testament to the hard work and tough decisions made by the board and administration after facing a significant deficit driven by years of inadequate state funding for public education,” Superintendent Pedro Galaviz said in a statement. “We’re proud to show our taxpayers once again that Canutillo ISD is committed to fiscal responsibility, but this has been a journey that required many sacrifices — some we wish we didn’t have to make.”
Under the new compensation plan, teachers with three to four years of experience will receive a $2,500 raise, while those with five or more years will receive a $5,000 raise. Both are required and funded by HB 2.
Teachers with no experience will also get a $500 raise, while those with one and two years of experience will get $1,000 and $1,250, respectively, though it is not required under HB 2.
The district is also giving support staff, such as counselors, librarians, nurses and custodians a 1% raise, but administrators are not included in the compensation package.
Canutillo ISD has over $9.7 million in reserves, or enough to operate the district without additional funding for 54 days, according to documents posted to the meeting’s agenda.
The proposed budget is 2% lower than the current school year’s $67.2 million budget, which was approved in June 2024.
The district in the spring projected it would have a $5.8 million deficit for the upcoming school year, until it made a series of budget cuts, including laying off employees and cutting programs.
At the time, the district estimated it would have $7.65 million in reserves, enough to keep operating for 41 days, if they didn’t do anything about the deficit.
The post Canutillo ISD adopts balanced budget after expense cuts and state funding boost appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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