SFDR CISD eyes $2.7 million shortfall, plans June 25 budget hearing

A roughly $2.7 million hole is now at the center of San Felipe-Del Rio CISD’s 2026-27 budget, a gap that could shape staffing, classroom support, transportation and extracurriculars if trustees do not close it. Administrators told the board on June 8 to publish a zero-based budget and to use two one-time $500 stipends instead of a recurring pay raise, then set a June 25 public hearing before final action.

The budget workshop took place at the Student Performance Center and Administration Auditorium, 315 Griner St. in Del Rio. Becky Luna Chavez was absent, while Brian Weston, Josh Overfelt, Emilio Galindo, Amy Haynes and Linda Wanowat Webb were present. BoardBook also shows the district spent the spring in repeated budget sessions, with meetings on June 2, May 26, May 15, May 14 and April 16, a sign that the 2026-27 plan has been under pressure for weeks rather than days.

The latest shortfall stands out because SFDR-CISD entered the prior year with a tight but balanced financial picture. Its 2024-25 adopted budget projected total revenues of $102,303,703 against roughly $102.3 million in expenditures, with enrollment listed at 9,700. A later 2025-26 proposed budget posting showed enrollment at 9,550 and total revenues of $112,141,054, while the board adopted a total tax rate of $0.936300, including $0.748600 for maintenance and operations and $0.187700 for debt service. That history suggests the current gap is not just a small accounting problem, but part of a budget picture that has been moving under real strain.

A zero-based budget would require district leaders to rebuild spending from the ground up instead of carrying forward prior line items automatically. In practical terms, that could force trustees to decide which positions, programs and services are protected and which are trimmed. The stipend recommendation points in the same direction: administrators appear to be trying to offer some employee relief without permanently increasing the salary base in a year when revenues and expenses are out of balance.

The June 25 hearing is now the district’s next public checkpoint. SFDR-CISD’s School FIRST presentation shows it earned an “A = Superior” 2025 rating for the year ending June 30, 2024, and earlier public hearing materials have included property-tax values, attendance projections, salaries, health insurance and debt service. That record of detailed reporting will matter again when trustees face residents with a $2.7 million problem that still needs a clear answer.