A $97.3 billion state education budget request would lock in a per-student funding level Conroe ISD leaders have called inadequate.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) presented the spending plan at a Tuesday, Sept. 29, hearing before the Legislative Budget Board, as Community Impact first reported. The request covers the 2028-29 biennium and represents an increase from about $91 billion in the current state budget. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said the funding would maintain all existing public school dollars through the Foundation School Program, the state's main pipeline to districts like Conroe ISD.

The request preserves a basic allotment of $6,215 per student. That figure reflects only a $55 increase approved during the 2025 legislative session. Some school leaders had asked for roughly $1,300 more per student to keep pace with inflation.

"A $55 increase for each student divided over the course of a school year is not tangible," said Yulissa Chávez, a policy fellow with the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, during public testimony at the Sept. 29 hearing. "It's not helpful."

What it means for Conroe ISD

Conroe ISD serves more than 70,000 students across more than 70 schools in Montgomery County. The district's board of trustees approved a $769.6 million budget for fiscal year 2026-27 on Aug. 18 without employee raises.

Chief Financial Officer Karen Garza told the board at that August meeting that funding was not available for raises and called state funding a legislative priority heading into the next session. Trustee Melissa Dungan said at the same meeting that school financing relies heavily on projections, making future budgets uncertain.

The district has also flagged a potential drop in its fast growth allotment for 2027-28 and strain on its fund balance from a self-funded insurance plan.

Budget exempt from cuts

Gov. Greg Abbott and legislative leaders directed most state agencies in July to cut their base budget requests by 3% for the 2028-29 biennium. Public education funding was exempt from that directive.

The TEA's request breaks down to about $49.6 billion for fiscal year 2027-28 and $47.7 billion for fiscal year 2028-29. Morath described the agency as primarily a conduit for distributing state dollars to school districts. No elected lawmakers attended the Sept. 29 hearing, though staff from the governor's office, the Legislative Budget Board and budget-writing committees were present.

School choice funding could double

Separately, the Texas comptroller's office asked lawmakers to double funding for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program to more than $2 billion for the next biennium, Community Impact reported. Nearly 110,000 students have received state dollars through the program. More than 106,000 remain on the waitlist. The Legislative Budget Board projected during the 2025 session that demand could push TEFA funding to $3.3 billion by 2028 and $4.8 billion by 2030.

What's next

Lawmakers will hear from Morath and other agency officials as they draft legislation during the 2027 legislative session, which begins in mid-January. Conroe ISD leaders have said they plan to advocate for employee compensation funding during that session.