EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – After what the Canutillo Independent School District is calling “months of cost-saving reviews and budget adjustments,” the Board of Trustees adopted a balanced budget for the 2025-26 school year on Tuesday evening, June 24, the district said in a news release.
Canutillo ISD said the $65.8 million budget includes state-funded salary increases for classroom teachers and other instructional support staff, along with an increase in the district’s contribution to employee health care costs.
“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. “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.”
The approved budget includes salary increases for teachers funded through the state’s Teacher Retention Allotment under House Bill 2, Canutillo ISD said.
The district said teachers with three or four years of experience will receive $2,500 raises, while those with five or more years will receive $5,000.
In addition, teachers not covered under the allotment will also see increases: $500 for those with zero years of experience, $1,000 for one year, and $1,250 for two years, Canutillo ISD added.
However, Canutillo ISD said the Teacher Retention Allotment applies only to classroom teachers and excludes other instructional roles such as principals, counselors, instructional coaches, librarians, and central office administrators.
Canutillo ISD is also providing a 1 percent salary increase from the midpoint for staff eligible under the new Support Staff Retention Allotment.
Those receiving the pay increase include counselors, instructional coaches, librarians, nurses, and hourly support staff such as custodians, aides, cafeteria workers, clerical staff, and bus drivers, Canutillo ISD said.
The district said Central office administrators are not included in the compensation plan adopted by the board.
The budget also includes a $100 increase in the district’s monthly contribution toward health insurance for all employees enrolled in the district’s plan, helping offset rising out-of-pocket costs, Canutillo ISD said.
We’re pleased to have approved not only a balanced budget, but also a compensation package that supports the frontline staff who directly impact our teaching and learning efforts,” Board President Armando Rodriguez said. “While we understand that educating children is a collective effort by all staff, we’re simply not in a financial position to provide salary adjustments for every employee at this time.”
“Our goal is to achieve financial solvency and begin rebuilding our reserves so we can eventually fund the initiatives we know our students and employees deserve,” he said.
As we previously reported, earlier this year, district officials warned of a projected $6 million deficit for the upcoming school year, citing reduced average daily attendance, rising costs, and stagnant state funding as key factors.
“In response, the district implemented several cost-saving measures, including reductions to operational department budgets, the restructuring of services and programs, elimination of some contracted services and a reduction in force. Those efforts significantly closed the funding gap, and additional revenue from House Bill 2 helped eliminate the remaining shortfall,” read the news release by the district.
Additionally, trustees also adopted the district’s debt service and child nutrition funds, both of which were balanced.
A tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year will be set by trustees later this year, the district said.
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