BURTON SCHOOL BOARD PASSES BUDGET, TAX RATE
After several hours behind closed doors at its meeting Monday, the Burton School Board agreed on the budget for the 2019-20 school year.
The presented budget balances at $6.8 million, a difference of $1.3 million in expenditures and $1.5 million in receipts compared to last year.
Superintendent Dr. Edna Kennedy said the district’s local sources of revenue total $6.4 million, while the state is only providing $130,000 for the district. She said that is because the district gets most of its monies from taxes, and because Burton ISD is classified as a “rich district”.
When asked why the district wasn’t seeing a reduction in the district’s “Robin Hood” payment, Dr. Kennedy said the effects of House Bill 3 won’t be seen right away. She said the district is projected to make a $682,000 recapture payment to the state, but it will not know for sure until January, when the legislature decides for sure that’s what it put into place.
Robert Lindemann of the ESC Region VI Office said legislators still do not know how to interpret and implement the new law. Dr. Kennedy said that is why the district had to wait until the last minute to work out teacher salaries.
Board member Tracey Cox questioned what would happen once the district stops receiving the influx of oil money in the next few years. Board member David Warner responded that local sources for the district would go down accordingly, to which Dr. Kennedy added the district may then receive more from the state. Warner said the district needs to make sure it does not overspend, because in two or three years it will not have all of the extra oil revenue.
Of the $6.8 million in expenses, the largest portion of that is $3.5 million in instruction costs, over $710,000 more than last year. Dr. Kennedy said instruction costs have increased due to additional staff members and pay raises, but those costs are made up of more than just teacher salaries.
Dr. Kennedy said those costs include anything required to cover classroom needs, including curriculum, supplies, and Chromebooks for students. She mentioned the district just recently put in a large order for Chromebooks last week for new students, who all require an individual device.
After adjourning from executive session, the board approved three percent pay raises for the superintendent and principals.
The board also approved a tax rate of $1.04 per $100 valuation, made up of 97 cents for maintenance and operations (M&O) and 7.49 cents for debt services (I&S). The rate is 13 cents less than last year’s rate of $1.17 per $100.
The average market value of a home in Burton sits at $185,278, compared to $168,942 last year, roughly a ten percent increase. Washington County Chief Appraiser Willy Dilworth previously said, based on if a taxpayer’s home is listed at average value, that person’s taxes will go down around $9.50.