Taylor Independent School District has set up its financial outlook for the next school year.
On June 27, Taylor ISD’s board of trustees approved to adopt the school’s 2022-23 budget after a public hearing. The board also approved final budget amendments for the 2021-22 school year.
The budget takes into account the proposed tax rate for the 2022- 23 school year of $1.3154 per $100 valuation of property. The tax rate is set to raise the school’s maintenance and operation rate but is overall lower than the 2021-22 tax rate of $1.3328 due the decrease in the interest and sinking rate.
“The total tax rate from 21 and 22 is actually a decrease of almost 1.74 pennies, so almost 2
cents,” said Lorine David, Taylor ISD chief financial officer. “We did drop the I&S by 3 cents.”
School staff calculate that there will be $43,673,054 in revenues and $40,681,721 in expenditures in the 2022-23 school year. If the projections hold, the school will come out with $2,991,333 in net revenue by the end of the year.
In reviewing the 2021-22 budget, expenditures were expected to exceed revenue by $720,000. David attributed a loss in state revenue as the primary reason as well as contributing factors.
“I think one of the biggest factors is the decreased revenue based on our ADA (average daily attendance) was significantly less than we budgeted, and then of course, there are always unexpected expenditures. Your budget is your, I hate to say ‘guess,’ but it’s your best estimate at the time and there’s always the unexpected things,” said David. “Of course, we have the fuel spike the last few months of the year. We’ve had legal fees that have been excessive. We’ve given pay adjustments during the year. Those weren’t in the original budget. So, all in all, I think it’s mostly attributed to the loss of state revenues.”
The Texas Education Agency states that ADA and wealth per average daily attendance have a significant impact on school funding.
Board trustee Marilyn Tennill inquired to how much the state contributes to school funding for security with school safety a major concern amid recent events elsewhere,.
“Our state funds for security right now and the template are anywhere from $25,000- $30,000,” said David. “We spend well over that with our school resource officers and our (security auditor) that comes and helps us with our security audits.”
Superintendent Devin Padavil added that although the district spends a lot of money keeping the campus population safe, an enhanced focus will be in the forthcoming year.
“We’re going to have to even be more diligent about it,” said Padavil, “and it’s also been a part of conversation in our community advisory committee as we’re thinking about what are the future facility needs for our schools to just make sure that the money is being spent to the number one priority which is safety and security.”
For more information on the budget, visit https://www.taylorisd. org/apps/pages/business-office.
To see the full the discussion with more details and explanation, visit https://www.facebook.com/GoTaylorTx and scroll down to the June 27 video.
