Texas schools running $1 billion short, expert testifies
Texas’ public schools are $1 billion short, meaning officials will soon have to seek that much in supplemental appropriations from the state Legislature to meet upcoming financial obligations, a top official said at the school finance trial Monday.
Shirley Beaulieu, chief financial officer at the Texas Education Agency, testified before state District Judge John Dietz that in the coming weeks, her agency will have to request $1 billion in additional funding so that school districts can make their July expense payments.
The legislative session opens Tuesday, but any request for additional school funding could get tricky since lawmakers already deferred $2.3 billion in August school payments a few days into the new fiscal year to help shore up the 2012-13 budget, passed two years ago.
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