Denton Independent School District is set to close the 2025-26 fiscal year with a roughly 22 million dollar surplus, district leaders told trustees at an April 14 board meeting. The unexpected cushion follows a voter-approved local tax measure and state funding changes that together pushed revenue above earlier estimates. Officials said the extra money will help rebuild reserves and give the district more flexibility as they weigh staff pay and ongoing campus repairs.
By the district’s latest tally, revenue beat expenditures by nearly 22 million dollars. Revenue came in at about 388 million dollars, while expenditures totaled roughly 366 million dollars. District staff said the gap reflects a mix of longer-term revenue changes and one-time receipts that arrived after the budget was set. Executive budget director Jennifer Stewart shared those figures with trustees, according to Community Impact.
Where the money came from
A big share of the gain traces back to Proposition A, a voter-approved tax rate change that added about 27 million dollars after the November 2025 election and raised the district's rate to 1.2069 dollars per 100 dollars of valuation. State funding changes tied to legislation this year and reflected in the district's HB 2 calculations contributed roughly 19 million dollars, and staff counted about 15.4 million dollars from state program shifts and one-time sources such as land sales and tuition programs. The district's budget materials list those line items and show how the extra dollars closed a previously projected 15 million dollar deficit, according to Denton ISD.
Officials said the fund balance was about 66 million dollars at the end of fiscal year 2024-25 and is now estimated at about 88 million dollars, or roughly 24% of annual expenditures. That accounting was presented at the April board meeting, per Community Impact.
What the surplus means for raises and projects
Looking ahead, district staff projected 2026-27 revenue near 380 million dollars and expenditures around 370 million dollars, which would translate to a roughly 10 million dollar surplus before any new pay decisions. Trustees are weighing a possible staff raise that district staff estimate would cost about 9 million dollars, a move officials said could be partially covered by the one-time cushion, while longer-term revenue questions remain. Those projections and the compensation discussion are included in the district's April board packet, according to Denton ISD board materials.
Officials stressed that the surplus amounts to a short-term stabilization, not a permanent fix, pointing to enrollment shifts and ongoing uncertainty around state funding as financial pressure points that are not going away. Board agenda documents show trustees will continue reviewing budget amendments, compensation proposals and capital needs in public sessions in the coming weeks, and the district's budget book outlines the items up for consideration in more detail, according to Denton ISD budget materials.
