The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved at its regular meeting Monday night, a total budget of $930 million for the 2022-23 school year.
The total spending plan includes the General Fund, Debt Service and the Child Nutrition Fund.
Salary & benefits make up $679 million of the General Fund budget, which includes raises for teachers and non-teaching staff, despite tough budgetary times. Teachers and other staff will receive 2-3% salary increases beginning next month in July when the District’s fiscal year begins. Teachers received average raises of 6% last year and non-teaching staff received 4% . Increases over the past two years have positively impacted employees’ retirement account contributions, and the District will not raise insurance premiums for next year.
The 2022-23 Debt Service budget, which as the name implies is used to pay back debt the District has incurred, is $126 million.
The Child Nutrition budget is $36 million. The spending plan includes a 75-cent increase in the price of students’ breakfast and a 25-cent increase in the price of students’ lunch.
The District’s budget also includes $27 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to achieve a 90-day fund balance. Board policy requires the three-month reserve amount for the General Fund but not for the Debt Service or Child Nutrition funds.
The district budget must be prepared each year by June 19 and adopted no later than June 30.