BURTON SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS BUDGET & TAX RATE, APPROVES SUPT. EXTENSION & PAY RAISE

  

The Burton School Board met Wednesday to adopt Burton ISD’s budget and tax rate for the new school year and approve a contract extension and pay raise for Superintendent Vikki Curry.

The balanced budget includes $11,401,555 in general fund expenditures, $416,955 for food service and $2,737,274 for debt service, for a total of $14,555,784.  The budget is lower than the 2024-25 adopted budget of $14,905,973.

The budget accounts for employee pay raises as outlined in the district’s compensation plan approved in July.  Teachers with up to two years of experience will receive a $2,000 increase, support personnel will receive 6 percent of the midpoint allotment, bus drivers will see a step scale increase, and administrators will get 4 percent of the midpoint allotment.  Additionally, the state is funding $4,000 and $8,000 allotments for teachers with three to four years of experience or five or more years of experience, respectively.

However, the budget also reduces substitute teacher pay by $25 per day, which led to a no vote from Trustee Mike Clyde.  He said he could not support the reduction “in good conscience” and that the money it saves is a fraction of the district’s full budget.  Board President Jeff Harmel said after the meeting that Burton still pays substitutes more than some surrounding school districts, and Curry said the district can revisit it long-term. 

Click here to view the approved budget for the 2025-26 school year.

Trustees unanimously adopted the new tax rate, which dropped from the previously proposed tax rate of $0.8350 per $100 valuation due to an oversight in the rate calculation.  The newly approved tax rate is $0.8047 per $100, made up of $0.6250 for maintenance and operations (M&O) and $0.1797 for interest and sinking (I&S).  In comparison, the past tax rate was $0.9455 per $100, with $0.7355 for M&O and $0.2100 for I&S.

The board also unanimously agreed to extend Curry’s contract for one year through June 30, 2028 and give a 4 percent raise.