Building blocks for fiscal fitness
Start with the basics and begin to build your knowledge of this complex system.
At Alief ISD, our finance team is like a group of personal trainers for school finance — they’re experts at simplifying the complex and breaking it down into something anyone can master. They’re ready to guide you through understanding how funds flow into our district and how we allocate them to educate and serve our students.
So, where does funding come from?
Texas public schools pump up their budgets with three main sources:
Local Funding
State Funding
Federal Funding
How is Alief ISD funded?
Roughly 35% of our funding comes from local property taxes. These are contributions from homeowners and businesses right here in our city and neighborhoods. The lion’s share, a significant 61%, actually comes from state funding. We also receive a small but essential 4% from federal sources.
This financial setup highlights our local community’s role in supporting the day-to-day efforts of our schools. This funding is essential and is complemented by substantial state support, ensuring we have the resources to deliver a top-notch education to every student.
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Extra Services = Extra Funding
Just like some athletes need specialized gear or nutrition to achieve their goals, certain students need extra services. Whether it’s special education, gifted programs, early childhood education, or career and technical education (CTE), Texas provides additional funds to support these essential services, recognizing that some students require more resources to thrive.
A Heavier Lift with the Same Resources
You’ve probably felt the effects of rising costs yourself with higher prices for groceries, gas, and other basics. Just as our household budgets strain under inflation, our schools are facing the same financial squeeze.
The basic allotment for Texas students, the backbone of the district’s state funding, has remained stagnant at $6,160 per pupil since 2019. Without an increase in the basic student allotment, schools all over Texas are struggling to cover these escalating costs with the existing state funding.
Let’s Sculpt A School Budget
Now that you’re warmed up with the basics of fiscal fitness, let’s piece together how a district budget is built.