Careful savings can become vulnerable in the face of emergencies. As the state continues to shortchange public education and take away from crucial district resources, Coppell ISD is compelled to draw deeper than before from its roughly $70 million fund balance. All the district can hope is that its balance won’t completely crack under the pressure. "I don't want to sound like the sky is falling because it's not yet,” CISD trustee Nichole Bentley said. “But the reality is, we need to be figuring this out as if something significant isn't going to change with funding because there is a systematic approach to underfunding public schools.” According to CISD, since 2019, cumulative inflation has exceeded 20%, raising operating costs amongst district schools. Despite this cumulative...