BRENHAM ISD FACING BUDGET DEFICIT TO END FISCAL YEAR
Brenham ISD anticipates to close out the current fiscal year in the red.
gives school board trustees a report on the district's
budget as it nears the end of the current fiscal year.
The Brenham School Board on Monday was presented with year-end projections for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which concludes on August 31st. The estimates show total revenues of $51,234,386 and expenditures of $55,013,431, leading to a deficit of $3,779,045.
The shortfall is attributed to the startup of the school district transportation department, safety and security items, the purchase of new weight room equipment and substitute contract fees that were higher than what was budgeted for.
Chief Financial Officer Thad Lasater said given today’s economic environment, Brenham ISD is not alone with its troubles, as many districts are struggling to stay revenue-neutral.
Also impacting year-end projections is a lower enrollment and average daily attendance (ADA) than what was accounted for when the budget was passed last August, leading to less state funding. The district initially expected an enrollment of 4,995 students and a refined ADA of 4,745, but is planning to end the fiscal year with enrollment of 4,749 and a refined ADA of 4,447.
The $3,779,045 deficit will pull from the district’s fund balance, which will end the fiscal year at $9,814,335. Lasater said this will put the district below the state’s recommended fund balance level and may impact its financial rating.
As the district crafts its budget for the upcoming fiscal year, eyes are on Austin to see how the Texas Legislature’s property tax relief proposal will affect school finances. Based on the tax rate compression planned, Lasater said the district’s projected maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate will be $0.6692 per $100 valuation, reduced from the current M&O rate of $0.8546. The anticipated interest and sinking (I&S) rate was not provided. The state’s proposal includes “hold harmless” measures that would prevent the district’s funding from dropping off immediately.
Trustees criticized the state’s lack of support at this point in ensuring schools are well-funded enough to provide needed pay raises for teachers and staff. Trustee Kyle Hafner said the state’s allotment has not increased since 2019, but inflation has gone up since the start of this meeting. He continued by saying school districts cannot give their employees a raise if the state does not give the districts one, and urged the public to reach out to lawmakers so they make the matter a priority. Trustee Jared Krenek agreed, saying their voices only go so far as board members.
Board President Natalie Lange said Brenham ISD’s status as one of the largest employers in the county makes this issue not just about the school system, but the local economy as a whole. Trustee Kelvin Raven said whatever it takes to get employees a raise, the district needs to do it.
Further budget discussion is planned at the board’s next meeting on Tuesday, August 8th.
maybe the state of Texas should step in and take over like they did in Houston
You have no understanding of the situation if you think Houston ISD and Brenham ISD are in the same boat. Brenham is definitely not what it used to be but it is a far cry from the disaster that Houston is.
These school board members need to cut out the waste such as that weight room equipment to start with. They also could cut the Administration bloated salaries. All of those special programs need to go and get back to the basics of education. The board members fail to understand that it is not their money. We hard working taxpayers are tired of pull the wagon as our taxes go up each year. The board was more than happy to give the Supt. a big raise.
Start with making overall changes across the campuses like getting rid of all refrigerators, keurigs, and decorative lights. Turn all lights off when you leave the room. Many districts also have “blackout days” where one day a week ALL electricity is off by 4:00 and there are no after school activities. All heating & air can be turned off at night and started up again before the school day begins. These little things make a big difference.
So teachers shouldn’t be able to have coffee during the work day or be able to bring their lunch to eat during their 25 minute lunch break? I’m all about saving money, and there are plenty of places to do it, but that is just ridiculous and wouldn’t even put a dent in the $3.7 million deficit. No wonder Brenham can’t keep teachers when this is what the community thinks of them.
Many school districts have done this and saved millions in utility costs. Employees can eat lunch and drink coffee all day. The means of making coffee and storing lunches can be made with strategically placed coffee makers, refrigerators, and places for them to congregate whether it’s an all purpose area or lounge set up. Your argument is invalid.
There is zero need for all of the appliances to be in every classroom. That is in itself a hazard. Many fire marshals do not even allow it and as our town continues to grow, these things may also change here.
I looked up the annual energy consumption of a dorm fridge available for retail sale locally and it came out to 269 kWh and $32 annually. BISD probably has a better contract for electric service than most consumers, but assuming those figures and that it has about 375 teachers, that’s 1.2% of one million dollars. I think that we should start with the basic premise that $32 per year is immaterial to a teacher on a teacher’s salary and then try to figure out what expenses actually are material and what cost-cutting can be done that will neither punish teachers or result in the creation of a new six-figure position at the central office for czar of small appliance optimization.
The other side of the coin is that we could figure out small perks to help retain and recruit good teachers so that we spend a little money here and there to save big money year in and year out.
And we should pressure our legislators to kick in the state’s fair share or to walk back unfunded mandates. BISD’s problems have become commonplace and it all comes back to the big-government constraints being imposed on them from the outside.
That is currently how it works. They don’t have these appliances in every classroom. They are in the department common areas for teachers to use. You are suggesting a fix that is already in place. Your argument is invalid.
Actually, A watchful eye has an excellent money-saving point. Ive been involved with a school district approximately the same size as BISD and an aggressive energy conservation program similar to what was described was put in place with a goal of $2.3 million over 10 years. The goal was surpassed at $2.8 million. Every school campus for the most part has a lounge supplied with refrigerators, microwaves, coffee makers, tables & chairs. There’s no need for these in classrooms. Shutting lights when leaving rooms should be a norm and custodial staff should be responsible for all at the end of their service. Many districts have spent thousands to install auto lights that shut down on timers when no motion is detected. More waste because the responsibility has been passed on. More often than not the auto detection systems fail. We actually have a school where the gym lights have been on for days on end without a shutdown. This info came from reliable sources. This is an example. A/C and heating is often remote programmed now by district maintenance departments. Shut it down or at the least raise/lower the settings at the end of day. A conservative energy program CAN save millions over time.
To follow up to you and the above commenters perspectives on refrigerators and small appliances and the like, I would ask whatever became of the investigation into where the entire inventory of weights went several years ago when the football coach cleaned out the weight room and ordered new ones. It seems as though that price tag was at somewhere well over $100,000. I don’t think anybody’s going to complain about $30 a year going to run a small appliance, but when I hear of someone throwing out perfectly usable weights and purchasing new ones, that worries me. When that all became apparent, no one knew if he had permission or if there were approvals made by the school board or anything. I think the school board needs to follow up on such stories to clarify for the beleaguered taxpayers of this county.
How about reducing the bloat at the central office and getting rid of the positions that are not mission-critical to the education of our students? Take a look at all of the “specialists” that we employ that have little or no student contact. This district is full of bloat, they can cut back in many ways, but my bet is that they will look to our overtaxed population to solve their management problems.
Can you imagine how big this shortfall would be if the voters had allowed them to build a new school, and have to furnish it, staff it, and build out all of the infrastructure and support that would have needed? They may argue the bond issue would have covered this, but the set of a new facility always impacts the operational budget. We would be much worse off.
The glut of specialist is an issue that needs to be addressed. The school board needs to eliminate this waste and use the money for more qualified teachers. Proper maintenance on the older buildings will certainty make them last longer. Preventative maintenance goes a long way to making thins last and it is more cost effective. Some school board members are foolish and that is the problem. The newly elected board members seem to have a better grasp on things and hopefully they can help make changes that make sense.
The Guardian Program just keeps making more sense. Also, the weight room equipment was already fairly new and was already capable of supporting winning programs. Recent Brenham sports programs have not been what they used to be. Same with Brenham academics. Such a shame to watch the schools slide towards mediocrity.
This district is at fault for student underachievement…to a point. These are not the Brenham students of 10, 20, or more years ago, yet one thing hasn’t changed: learning and respect begin at home.
Looks like they will need to cut $3,779,045 from their budget! SIMPLE…
I love your name, Silas, and agree! 😉
Yes agreed