After months of fiscal belt-tightening, Fort Bend Independent School District appears to have reduced a $9.9 million budget deficit close to zero.
Now comes the hard part.
In a sobering presentation to FBISD Board trustees Monday afternoon, district Chief Financial Officer Tracy Hoke presented a proposed 2009-2010 budget including a deficit nearly twice as big as last year’s – $18.7 million. With state Rep. Dora Olivo present in the audience, Hoke, Board President Bob Broxson and other trustees laid blame for the district’s fiscal woes at the feet of the Texas Legislature.
The budget proposal includes a pay raise for teachers and scheduled employees that Hoke said amounts to an average increase of 2.71%, and a pay raise for non-scheduled employees such as para-professionals, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and custodians that would average 2%.
Under the administration’s salary proposal, a starting teacher at FBISD would be paid $44,500. FBISD Chief Human Resources Officer Rhonda McWilliams said that compares with stated starting teacher pay of $44,500 at Lamar Consolidated ISD and $45,500 at Alief ISD.
But if the board approves pay raises for district employees, it also seems certain employee health insurance costs will rise.
Health insurance costs to the district are projected to increase by 13.3% in the coming year, Hoke indicated.
To offset the impact of that increase, the administration is proposing, among other things, raising employees’ health insurance premium by $10 a month, increasing their annual deductible from $400 to $500.
Hoke had more bad news for board memebers: Although FBISD likely will receive $19.8 million in federal “stimulus” funding, state funding to the district is being reduced.
Now, she said, 10.8% of the state’s funding allocation to the district is being covered by federal money. And, in the 2011-2012 school year, that federal funding probably will end.
And, Hoke indicated the district has only limited means for whittling an $18.7 million deficit. By far the bulk of the district’s expenditures – 87.2% – go for employee salaries and benefits. Another 3.8% go for utilities and fuel.
The district, Hoke indicated, has pushed up into a “mathematical ceiling” at which total budgeted spending now is 101.8% of total budgeted revenue.
“We’re in a corner, and we’ve got to start addressing that,” she told board trustees. “We cannot have a budget that’s $18 million to $20 million in the hole.”
But for the coming year, it appears FBISD will.
Hoke presented two ideas she indicated would help the district dig out from under what appears to be even more dismal financial choices in future years.
One is to begin working on next year’s budget weeks sooner than has been the case previously. The other is to change the district’s fiscal year to end on June 30, coinciding with the school year.
Unlike years past, the district can’t count on a new revenue stream based on the state’s per-pupil spending. That’s because, in the coming year at least, the Fort Bend ISD area no longer is rapidly growing.
Hoke’s budget assumptions for the coming school year include an enrollment of 68,999 students – just 300 more than are currently enrolled.
The proposed budget also is based on certified property values of $22.7 billion within district boundaries – a number that is not yet certified and, due to a crush of property appraisal protests, may not be for another month or more.
If that number holds, however, it represents about a 5% increase in district property values from last year.
More than half of FBISD’s projected revenue (about $245 million of a total of $480 million) would come from a 1.04-per-hundred maintenance and operation property tax.
Separately, to pay down the district’s debt, the administration has propsed a 3.5-cent increase in the debt service tax rate – to 26.5 cents per hundred dollars of property valuation.
I agree with #9. I like the ‘get of jail free card’ idea too.
Sorry ‘heated’ many helped oppose the transfer of the MHS academy including watch groups already here in the district who are running candidates and some have actually won seats on local councils and have run candidates for the board too. You’re welcome to join the efforts, but don’t come in pretending these other groups have failed. They are real grassroots groups who were adept at getting many projects pushed forward, while keeping the financial strings and supposed “experts” who often hire out to the “special interest” out of it (we don’t need more sheeple leaders). Your pointing the finger at the legislature and away from our BOT does not help in these efforts. Yes the legislature plays a part, but in many of the issues our local board is taking its lead very much from the same financial interest that have controlled our community for the last 2 decades and not from its citizenry. Do some homework first and then start attending the council, board and commissioner meetings, don’t just criticize those that already have been speaking up. They will not be co-opted or silenced.
Good luck with your efforts though. We will continue ours too.
I prefer Mike Lee’s proposal to Fire Jenney and indict the board and the crooked vendors. Get some jail time for them and seize their assets. Use the seized proceeds to balance the budget. Fire the Czars Jenney hired and promise probation to those that roll on the crooks. First to talk on tape get’s that Gold Plated “Get out of Jail Free Card” We’ll find out fast who really loves Jenney. He might like his new room mate…..Bubba’s looking for a new “wife” since his got shanked in the yard last May!!1
Who advocates for education issues at the local community level? We are organizing the Fort Bend chapter of the Community Education Council. It’s purpose is to assess and address these and other issues of importance to local community stakeholders. As an independent voice, we can make a difference. We participated in the recent TMHS Engineering Academy relocation and to date have made a positive impact with the district. The board of trustees works for the community. When that fails to happen, it is the community that has failed to monitor and hold accountable those selected to represent it. Visit us at http://www.heat.groupsite.com for more information.
I “recognize” that what the FBISD board and Jenney are doing is not at all “acceptable.”
Did anyone read the news article in the Houston Chronicle, last Friday, thereabout?
I do believe the news article was about FBISD challenging its Acceptable Academic status due to the belief that the Academic ranking should have been Recognized versus being Acceptable.
How is it that we can take basic health care from our teachers because we can’t come up with the money, and yet we have enough to pay for a redundant museum and transport 800 students to and from this Global Science Center each and every day?
How is that? and why did the board refuse to address that last night?
Let the FBISD teachers do a survey on the GSCT now!
I got the distinct impression from the speaker in the FBN video that this leadership had just approved that $30 million dollar spending project (GSTC) in June with this projected budget crisis of nearly $19 million looming? Sounds like to me we need new district leadership. If they can’t balance a half billion dollar budget then they do need help.
I do agree with “another_teacher” that it is ashame that experienced teachers seem to be penalized. I notice this district seems to like to hire a great many new teachers, but I think that is a administrative budget game. Too bad we can’t reduce the layers upon layers of administrative positions at the central office and didn’t Jenney and the board give him several raises totaling in the quarter million range for only producing an “academically acceptable” district.
So let’s recap, in the time Jenney has been here we have moved into the top ten for bond-debt districts, already two tax increases, record bond debt in ’07, have 2 of our first ever multi-million dollar budget deficits, district rating is stagnant, excessive spending, more layers of administration at the central office, etc….hum…..some things just don’t add up as the video speaker seems to point out.
Teachers health care benefits have been painfully inadequate for far too long and now it is getting worse? Single Payer would help teachers for sure, but Single Payer would help the district PROFOUNDLY! The savings would radically turn around the debt issue. Just thinking…
So let’s see….according to the proposed pay raise, next year I will make $51,556. That’s a good salary, and I work hard for it. A starting teacher will make $45,500. That’s awesome, and definitely a step in a positive direction toward drawing effective teachers into the profession. Here’s my beef: I’ve had 12 years of teaching experience. My salary is $6056 higher than that of a beginning teacher. I wonder why it’s hard to retain qualified teachers when the paycheck says that my experience is worth, oh…about $500 a year.
Well it looks like for the second year, under this leadership, we are facing another record budget deficit even higher than the ’09 projections. When is this superintendent and board going to realize that you can’t pass a $30-40 million dollar spending package in June, run record bond debt and expect growth the take up the slack (or our ever increasing property tax assessments)?
It’s time for a change folks.