Conroe ISD Board of Trustees has updated the district’s priorities for the 89 Texas Legislative Session. New priorities include basic allotment, special education allotment, safety and security, transportation allotment and accountability and assessment reform. 

The district seeks their increase in basic allotment to be able to counter a roughly 19% increase in prices in educational expenses since 2019. They also seek to implement built-in annual inflation increases into budget formulas. The school district plans to use the money to increase local control over raises and help address rising costs.

Conroe ISD is additionally seeking an increase in Special Education Allotment. The current formula for SpEd funding has remained the same for 30 years, leading to spending $28.3 million over the allotment for 2024. 

The district is also looking for changes to the safety and security policy and an increase in the School Safety Allotment. The seeked changes in the policy relate to an increase of district control over the handling of violations such as school control for In-School Suspension duration and a reduction to restrictions for Out-of-School Suspension and DAEP for children in early elementary schools. The school plans to use the increased safety allotment to implement school safety updates such as secure entrances, advanced surveillance systems, on-campus officers and safety notification technology.

The final allotment that the district seeks is an increased Transportation Allotment. In 2024, the district spent $28.1 million over their Transportation Allotment and are now arguing that with high inflation on fuel and buses and hard-to-staff positions having low wages, a bigger allotment would be necessary.

The last priority for the 89 legislative session is accountability and assessment reform. This reform will focus on decreasing reliance on standardized tests and assessments and creating a more holistic education process. Specific goals to achieve this include Reducing STAAR tests from 20 to the federally mandated 17 and moving online STAAR testing from third to fifth grade.

“The updated priorities reflect our continued commitment to advocating for the needs of our students and educators,” Conroe ISD Board President Misty Odenweller said. “We are confident that these priorities will support the growth and safety of our district while addressing the critical issues facing schools across Texas.”