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On Tuesday, May 13, the Bastrop Independent School District spent the first hour of its school board meeting honoring the achievements of staff, teachers and students.
Chief financial officer Mike White then presented the Bastrop ISD proposed budget for the 2025-26 school year. White said, “The budget isn’t where we’d like it to be, but if House Bill 2 passes, the budget may look very different.”
Senate Bill 2, most commonly known as the school choice bill, has already passed the legislature and was signed into effect by Governor Greg Abbott on May 3. Together with HB2, the bills were called the “Texas Two Step,” but White added, “Maybe we’ll call this ‘One Step.’” He told the trustees the bill has currently been referred to a senate education committee for adjustment and consideration.
School districts in Texas are legally required to adopt a budget by June 30, which makes the wait on HB2, according to White, “disappointing and nerve-wracking as we come down to the final stretch.”
White also proposed changes to Bastrop ISD’s nutrition program by returning to an in-house model instead of renewing current food services contracts. Initially, the school district had an in-house model until 2012.
White said, “We can control our own program and chart our own course.”
Lee Raspberry, director of construction and planning, provided a bond update on the status of projects. Despite only being 65% complete, Raspberry assured the trustees that construction on the new Adelton Elementary School would be finished and ready to receive students in August.
Other bond projects are on schedule and on budget.
