Lubbock ISD CFO presents 2026–27 budget outlook, flags a multi‑million‑dollar shortfall

Dr. Dwayne Wilkins, Lubbock ISD chief financial officer, presented updated 2026–27 budget templates and told the board that while recent state funding changes have increased estimated revenues, much of that money is earmarked for specific uses such as teacher pay and cannot be used freely to close the district’s budget gap.

"We're going to be adopting a budget in June, and then we will not get our tax rate until August," Wilkins said, urging trustees to treat current figures as preliminary because final property valuations and tax-rate certification remain pending.

Wilkins said multiple template runs produced materially different totals: one early template showed roughly a $6 million increase in estimated revenues and an expenditure increase of about $15 million tied to payroll and teacher raises included in House Bill 2, producing an estimated $17.4 million deficit. A later template run gave an $11 million revenue increase and reduced the working deficit to about $12.5 million. Wilkins said the differences reflect ongoing adjustments to state funding formulas that the district must apply.

He emphasized that money from House Bill 2 is largely earmarked — for teacher pay raises, property insurance and specific programs — and "is not free money that helps us balance the budget," meaning the district cannot reallocate those funds to other priorities unless state guidance permits it.

Wilkins also listed outstanding inputs that will affect the final budget: final payroll costs, non‑payroll budgets, certified and preliminary local property values, the tax rate, and finalized food service and debt‑service budgets. He urged trustees to expect continued changes as the district receives updated state calculations.

Next steps: the board is scheduled to adopt a budget in June; the tax rate will be certified in August. No formal adoption vote occurred at this meeting.