Abilene ISD Board of Trustees reviews budget, vacant buildings, average daily attendance

The Abilene ISD Board of Trustees met Monday with limited board members to discuss next year’s budget and unused facilities and hear reports on the district’s CTE programs and construction update.

Secretary Angie Wiley led the meeting in President Daryl Zeller’s absence.

Members Bill Enriquez, Rodney Goodman and Dr. Danny Wheat were present alongside interim superintendent Dr. James Largent. Zeller, Cindy Earles and Derek Hood were absent.

District affected by substantial drop in attendance

In the board’s workshop meeting held prior to the regular meeting, members heard two presentations from Associate Superintendent for Operations Dr. Joseph Waldron.

April’s workshop kicked off discussion of the district budget for the next fiscal year.

According to a survey conducted by the Texas Association of School Business Officials, in a sample size of 300 districts statewide, anticipated budget cuts are expected for fiscal year 2025, Waldron said.

“Majority of the pie graph is not green,” he said, referencing the majority of responding districts anticipate significant or minor budget cuts.

Looking at data comparing fiscal years 2023 and 2024, Waldron said districts had much more confidence ending 2023 in a surplus whereas a majority anticipate a deficit for 2024.

“The climate has significantly changed in our state,” he said.

In last year’s budget cycle, superintendents were thinking the state would not get away with not giving schools more money on the basic allotment, Dr. Largent said.

“They proved us wrong. They kept it, and they are still sitting on billions of taxpayer dollars that they are not releasing to public schools,” he said.

The change can be attributed to high inflation, competitive salaries offered by districts and loss in average daily attendance (ADA), Waldron said.

Abilene ISD has seen a “dramatic slide” in enrollment and ADA from 2019 to 2024.

ADA has dropped 2,135 students since 2019 approximately costing the district $13.1 million in state funding.

In fiscal year 2024, Waldron said the majority of money spent goes to payroll at 79%.

Payroll expenses has declined since 2020 and 2021 due to efforts in shrinking staff positions added during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the staff size went down, a pay increase was applied, Waldron said.

In fiscal year 2025, Waldron believes AISD’s general fund budget will range between $140 million to $150 million, but most likely will fall in the lower end.

The 2024 fiscal year general fund budget was around $148 million according to AISD 2023-2024 annual adopted budget documents.

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Unused facilities are sucking resources

Waldron recommended the school board think about taking action declaring Fannin Elementary and Woodson Early Childhood as surplus properties.

“Abilene ISD having so many properties that are not at full capacity or full functional capacity or are idle with nothing happening in them is an operational vacuum that’s sucking resources,” Waldron said.

Empty seats in classrooms create inefficiencies. If you shrink the number of empty seats, more can be done with resources, he continued.

“They’re hard conversations—I don’t deny that—but looking at idle facilities, it’s not as challenging as shrinking campuses that actually have students in them today,” Waldron said.

Ownership of the land surrounding Fannin Elementary was transferred to the City of Abilene in 2010 in exchange for park land adjacent to Bowie Elementary.

AISD currently owns the building on the property, which is used for storage purposes, but it can be moved to another location that is more operationally efficient, Waldron said.

As for the Woodson Early Childhood campus, inquiries into AISD owning or selling the property are frequent, he continued.

“There is a little bit of items stored there, but for the most part it is 100% vacant," he said. "The facility itself might actually do some good for another organization. I don’t think Abilene ISD would put programs at that facility without putting in a significant investment."

Waldron claimed both sites have been victims of vandalism and burglary. While the district is legally obligated to insure the properties, they are filed differently than occupied buildings.

Many options were presented to board members included demolition, trade and sale, but they decided to take action on the properties at the next month’s meeting.

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Regular meeting business

During the regular meeting, the board recognized the accomplishments of students and staff across the district.

Schneider Electric provided a final construction update highlighting the improvements made to create efficient infrastructure solutions.

By installing LED lighting, replacement windows, a building automation system, HVAC rooftop units and outside air units, AISD’s projected savings over the term of the project was estimated at $36.6 million with a 24.6% reduction in utility consumption over the next 20 years.

Director of Career and Technical Education Lucille Fullen delivered a report on CTE programs district wide.

Currently AISD has 22 programs of study including courses in business, education, software development, electrical, health care and law enforcement.

The purpose of CTE programs is to prepare students for post-secondary education or entry into the workforce by providing hands-on learning opportunities where students can gain applicable knowledge, practice technical skills and earn industry-based certifications.

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This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: AISD looks ahead: 2025 budget, idle facilities, construction complete