School funding, community pride: Takeaways from Kingsville ISD's State of the District

KINGSVILLE — Kingsville ISD has suffered hits to funding, like other Texas school districts, but it has also seen gains thanks in part to collaborations with Texas A&M University-Kingsville and other community organizations, officials said Thursday during a State of the District event. 

Kingsville schools have seen many changes since Superintendent Cissy Reynolds-Perez began leading the district nearly three years ago. The event invited the community to hear about points of pride, as well as challenges in the district.

As schools across the state brainstorm ways to attract and retain teachers, Kingsville ISD is preparing to implement a 4.5-day work week for teachers next year, during which students will attend school Monday through Thursday with additional enrichment activities during some Friday mornings. 

Through it all, the district has kept its eyes on the state. 

Reynolds-Perez and KISD board of trustees President Brian Coufal both spoke during the event, pointing to a complicated and "broken" school funding formula and changing state accountability expectations. 

State constraints

Like all schools, the district faced the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020 and calls for increased security measures after a school shooting in Uvalde last year. 

The district hired an armed security team and introduced additional security measures such as fencing and technology to limit access to the schools. The initial cost was more than $800,000. From the state, the district has only received about $203,000. 

Reynolds-Perez has coordinated with other superintendents from across Kleberg County to advocate for education at the Texas Legislature. 

Despite the state's $33 billion budget surplus, legislators did not pass proposals to boost teacher pay or school funding during the regular session. One bill would have given schools an extra $4.5 billion.

The lawmakers did agree on legislation to require armed security officers and mental health training and a $1.1 billion allocation to help schools meet safety requirements.

Reynolds-Perez said that the district has a healthy fund balance and has been spending conservatively, but future finances are uncertain without increased state support. Efforts in KISD in recent years to cut costs include consolidated campuses, reduced staff through attrition and potential property sales. 

Coufal expressed his hopes, echoed later in the event by state Rep. J. M. Lozano, that Gov. Greg Abbott will call lawmakers for a special session to resolve school funding. 

The state funds schools based on the difference between the amount per student it believes is necessary to educate a student and local property tax revenues. 

Coufal explained that because the local appraisal district and the Texas Comptroller’s Office disagree on property values, the district isn’t receiving full funding. It collects local revenues based on a low local estimation of property values and reduced state payments based on higher estimates of property values. 

Lozano and State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa introduced identical bills to resolve part of the problem this session, inspired by the efforts of Orange Grove ISD to raise awareness about the issue, but the bills died in committee. 

Coufal and Reynolds-Perez also expressed concerns about expected changes to the state school accountability model. 

Last year, Kingsville earned a "C" on the Texas Education Agency's A-F school scorecard, representing a slight two-point improvement since the last time the state released accountability ratings in 2018-19, pre-pandemic. That rating four years ago was a substantial improvement from 2017-2018, when the district received an "F" rating. 

“Clearly, we’re not where we need to be, but thank God we’re not where we were,” Coufal said.

Community partnerships 

In contrast to disappointments at the state level, Reynolds-Perez touted local support. 

Reynolds-Perez gave numerous examples of times throughout the year when the schools leaned on the community for support.  

After a serious fight at King High School in the fall, the school invited law enforcement, the county judge and boxing champion Oscar Cantu to talk to students about appropriate behavior and the consequences of fighting. 

The district hosted an annual suicide prevention symposium in the fall, inviting surrounding districts. 

Texas A&M University-Kingsville President Robert H. Vela Jr. spoke during the event, touting the university’s partnership with the local school district and pledging continued collaboration. 

In the spring, the university announced plans to offer A&M-Kingsville students work-study positions as tutors in local school districts helping to combat learning loss, including in KISD. 

Vela said that last fall, more than 50 King High School graduates enrolled at the university. 

“We are committed to making sure that number grows,” Vela said. “We want our Brahma graduates to know that TAMU-K is here for them and is ready to be a part of their pathway to their continued success.” 

Reynolds-Perez also thanked various local organizations that have stepped up to provide programs for children next year on Fridays when students aren’t in school under the new four-day school week. 

On Fridays when students are invited for tutoring and extracurricular activities in the morning, the district will also offer an afternoon program at Harvey Elementary School for special education students and children from military families in response to community concerns. 

The full presentation was livestreamed and is available online on Kingsville ISD's YouTube channel. 

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