RONNIE HOHLT RESIGNS – JEFF HARMEL APPOINTED TO BURTON BOARD
Burton School Board member Ronnie Hohlt officially resigned his position on the board last night saying that a business opportunity came up that would require him working for the district. Hohlt has served on the board for 7 years and was last elected in May of 2016. Board President Demetrius Colvin explained that in order to save the taxpayers the expense of holding another election, the board would appoint someone to replace Hohlt. Colvin said the board agreed to appoint the candidate who received the next highest vote total in the last election. Jeff Harmel, who lost re-election to the board in May by just 12 votes, was then appointed by the board to fill Hohlt’s position. As an appointed trustee, Harmel will serve until the next trustee election in May of 2018. The position will then be on the ballot for the voters to decide. Board member Ande Bostain was voted in to serve a board secretary. Later in the meeting, it was revealed that Hohlt will be employed by the district as a contract employee in charge of campus maintenance.
In other action, the board decided to keep the current tax rate of $1.17 per $100 valuation. That proposed tax rate will be voted on after a public hearing on August 28th. The board will also hold a workshop session on that date to finalize the district’s budget. Currently, the projected budget, would bring in over $300,000 more in local taxes, but would lose over $400,000 in state funding compared to last year. Total expenditures are expected to be just under the 5 million dollar mark, about $150,000 lower than last year. The board decided to table any action on employee salary and benefit increases. The board wanted to wait and see what the state legislature is going to do in the special session that ends tonight (Wednesday). They are looking at a $1200 pay increase to teachers, and a 3 percent increase to all other employees, but will make that decision at their August 28th meeting.
In other action, the board voted to change the graduation requirement for Burton High School. They voted to eliminate the local requirement for a business class that taught how to use Microsoft Power Point and Word. The requirement was added 13 years ago and is now outdated as most students in high school are already using the software.
I’m going to say here what no one wants to say, because they are afraid of a few people who intimidate others. (Hopefully KWHI will post it.)
The problem is we have a few rich people in the area that are very greedy! They are able to muster support from people their age and convince others to go against the school. WHY?Then hear these same people tell others how they support the school through donations! What they really mean is they needed a tax write off, to help keep their income taxes lower! It all has to do with money for this group! They are NOT about the KIDS! To prove my point, I’m betting a few run for election this May. Watch and see. Word has it this group is planning to take over the school, and the town for that matter. Rich bullies. Not what this school needs!
This school, and this board, need our support! Not negativity! These kids are our future!
Seems they all want to keep everything the same! At one time that happened, the school was in trouble and was literally falling apart. Simply because nothing was done. In FACT, the school started to improve once the school & board stepped up and made POSITIVE changes and new facilities! These people are creating a bad image for out school. Lets send them a message and tell them to STOP! Hopefully STOP will get through to them, because they do not understand logical compassion…
I hope the community will get behind the board. Our teachers and kids deserve it!
Thank you Mr Palmer for addressing topics so people hopefully better understand the challenges school boards and administrators face. The tax rate has always been a hot topic…. when the board first started discussing moving the elementary to the high school campus… we held public meetings to answer tax payers questions. People who were truely concerned with the well being of our children, our school and our community came to those information sessions. While others did not….. yet continued to oppose everything that involved change!!!! I was a board member then so I couldn’t speak my mind…. so I say this now…. BURTON IS A PROUD COMMUNITY!!! We have GREAT KIDS…. kids who deserve the best we can give them…. which I truly believe is BURTON SCHOOLS!!! My dad went to Burton High school and I am PROUD that both my sons graduated from Burton High School!!! So to all the grumpy old nay-sayers…. once you reach a certain age your Tax rate is capped so your taxes are only going up if improvements are made to your property. You are going to pay school tax regardless of where you live. Finally if you still think everything that happens in Burton is bad – please relocate somewhere else and let someone in who will appreciate the values that living in a small town bring!!!
As far as our teachers…. I don’t know how anyone can gripe over a salary increase. Unless you’ve spent a day or two in their shoes… you have no idea the challenges they endure daily. It takes a special person to be a teacher….. especially now. In general so many children are being raised without manners, discipline or respect for anything! I know we don’t have all the issues big city schools have…. but there are still challenges. So please don’t gripe about our teachers needing a pay increase. In order to attract and retain quality teachers we need to offer competitive pay. Money that is well deserved for educating our future generations!!!!
Good luck to all the Burton Panthers this year!!!!
Although I agree with what you said about teachers salaries, you are incorrect on the taxes. The taxes are frozen at a certain age, if you live long enough to get there, but the valuation is NOT frozen. You do not need to do any improvements to your property for the valuation to go up, which it does every single year. So, just because the elderly, which are mostly living on a fixed income, have their taxes frozen, doesn’t mean they are not being increased every year. Their taxes go up, social security goes down, Medicare doesn’t cover what they need, and many are suffering not only in our district, but everywhere.
Thank you Ronnie Hohlt for your dedication to Burton ISD and the board. I am happy to hear that your plans are to continue your commitment and enthusiasm towards Burton ISD.
Thank you Jeff Harmel for stepping up and into the open position on the board. It’s a great feeling to know that you have the school and students in your primary focus.
As for property taxes, I will be one of the first to say, I hate them…….. although, I understand that they are necessary. My pocketbook takes a huge hit every year because of them, but if a penny increase per $100 valuation is needed to get the teachers a raise, I am willing to give up one night a year without my family going out to eat to give our teachers a bump in pay.
Lastly, I hope to be able to retire one day and be able to research and reply to these types of Burton stories like Mr. Palmer does religiously. In the future, I would like to ask that if there are questions on school finances or your taxes, I am sure the current superintendent, school board members, tax appraiser, or business manager can get you answers.
Burton schools are performing well in academics, student participation and meeting the needs of all students. As recently as 2015, Burton schools Were included in the Niche top 60 schools in Texas. In our geographic area, only College Station schools were rated higher. Burton schools were one of just a few schools with 500 or less students included in the ratings.
Burton ISD has veteran teachers and campus administrators. Class size is small, students exercise self discipline and the majority have success after High School. There are college credit course offerings in welding and technology as well as the opportunity to take dual credit classes at Blinn at reduced cost. The district is the fiscal agent for the Burton Co-op that provides excellent resources for special needs students. These students are successful on the state mandated exams as well. Most are in regular education settings.
There are more positives, not to mention the fine facilities from the 2008 bond and improvements funded with a low interest federally subsidized loan. The tax rate has remained unchanged for several years. This demonstrates fiscal responsibility on the part of the Board.
The point of mentioning these highlights is to justify the Board’s interest in rewarding campus leadership, faculty and staff for their efforts in putting Burton schools in this position. They have earned the consideration on merit.
As to the speaker that addressed the Board on school finance, his name was Johnny Zolman. He is a former superintendent of Lovelady ISD and has worked for the Region Six Education Service Center in Huntsville for fifteen years or more. The ESC is a resource for school districts in all facets of education. Their services include transportation, cafeteria, curriculum, administration, policy, school finance, instructional technology and more.
He was explaining the template used by districts all across Texas to determine the amount of funding they will get from the state each year. There are many factors, the most important is the number of students that attend school each day. It matters how many students has enrolled AND the number that attend each day. If your enrollment is high, but the attendance rate is low, the district loses funding. For maximum efficiency, districts need as many students as they can get and have those students attend school every day.
Mr. Zolman also discussed the recapture school finance policy called “Robin Hood” by schools in Texas. In the Texas Constitution, it is the state’s legal requirement to fund a “free and public education” for Texas students. Under the state constitution, the state is prohibited from establishing a state income tax. The state of Texas has a state sales tax and designated fees that are used to fund Texas state services, including public education. The state determines the amount of funding per student that is needed to provide a “free and public education” for a student in public school. Let’s say it is $3,000 per student. The maximum that a district can set as a tax rate for a school year Operations budget is $1.04. So the Burton district sets that rate and collects $3,100 per student. If the district has 100 students, Burton ISD collected $100,000 excess funds. Those funds will be “recaptured” by the state and redistributed. Where you ask?
Another district sets its tax rate at $1.04. But they collect $2,800 per student. They have 100 students. They will be $200,000 short of collecting enough to meet the minimum of $3,000 per student. The state takes the $100,000 of Burton tax money and sends it to this district, plus another $100,000 it recaptured from say, Round Top ISD, and sends it to the poorer district. The poor district thinks it is receiving funds from the state. Burton ISD understands that the state “robbed” them and gave it to the poor district, thus the name “Robin Hood”.
It is a “hidden tax” because the property owners of Burton ISD have no idea exactly how much of the taxes they paid were taken or where it went. The final amount is not determined until a year later. The Burton District has the info in their audit each year, but like most districts, they do not publish it, because it is a tax the district must, by law, pay to the state.
You ask, why doesn’t the district just lower the tax rate so it can send less to the state? Because the district has a budget to fund. If the district has a budget of $3 million, and it sets the tax rate at $1.04, it collects say $3 million to keep for its budget, and sends $200,000 to the state. If it drops the rate to $1.03, the district collects say $2.9 million to keep, and sends like $2.9 million for its budget.
Another factor is what is known as the “golden pennies”. The last four cents above a dollar are free from recapture. So every dollar in tax money you get from the last four pennies, you get to keep it. So the wise move most districts take is to take at least one penny above what is needed for them to fully fund their budget. This way the district can have a contingency fund for emergencies such as dealing with a roof repair, replacing a bus or having to hire additional staff to meet student needs.
Hope that helps.
I am curious about how much of the state lottery receipts actually goes to the schools; any idea where that information could be obtained? I haven’t been able to find that information online.
Let me be of assistance. Below is a link to an article that answers all of your questions. The story explains that the Texas Legislature pulled a “bait and switch” on the voter. After paying the expenses of the lottery, there is $1 billion that goes to education. But instead of ADDING that to the education budget, the legislators took $1 billion in funding FROM education, REPLACING the $1 billion they took with this new source of revenue. That freed up $1 billion dollars of General Funds, which the state can spend on anything. And Texas became a state with legalized gambling. Poof!
http://www.kcbd.com/story/14579932/kcbd-investigates-is-the-tx-lottery-really-funding-education
Thank you for the info; sadly the answer I sought turned out to be very depressing.
What was discussed in regards to the citizens in attendance that spoke against giving our teachers a raise? I hear they are looking to replace board members if these pass. I’d replace board members for not giving teachers a raise! What kind of people refuse to give teachers a raise??? I can understand if the current budget can’t support it, but looks like the tax rate could stay the same. What is wrong with people?
I also heard that Willie Dillworth or some other guy speaking said that any additional taxes collected due to the increase in property values goes directly to the State and our schools will not see a dime of that! That it’s a hidden “State Property Tax” which involves the comptrollers office somehow. What? I got questions about this.
Seems the media left out a few important details. Can someone please help clear this up?
The teacher supporters need to be present at the next meeting to nip the non teacher supporters. It’s ridiculous not to give our teachers the raise they deserve. What is wrong with these people? It’s time we show this group that they are wrong and show our support for the teachers! We have GREAT teachers!
Burton Strong