With federal funding from the pandemic ending later this year, school districts are readjusting their budgets, and Brownsville Independent School District is already in the red.

Declining enrollment lead to declining funding for the district. Recently, they made the decision to close three schools. 

Now, another drop in funding.

"We're not letting go of any employees. A lot of districts are, just because they spent a lot more on personnel. We didn't," Brownsville ISD Superintendent Jesus Chavez said.

Chavez is describing the ESSER, or Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, funds.

Some districts used it to buy technology, or fix equipment, others used it to hire more staff.

The pandemic-era money ends in September.

"So they knew that when this ended, that this was not going to be forever. That they would be in a better financial position to absorb some of these costs," AFT Best Brownsville ISD Teachers Union member Patrick Hammes said.

In total, BISD received more than $287 million from ESSER funding. A big portion was used on technology, closing the education gap for students, HVAC repairs and staff stipend.

The district talked about some of the proposed cuts during a budget workshop. They have a list of around 60 ideas, some include cutting an hour from after school programs. Other ideas meant not filling vacant jobs once someone leaves.

The public will have a chance to review all the budget cuts BISD is planning, but the school board will have the final say.

If they take all 60 of those budget cut ideas, it could save the district over $17 million.