[A. CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:04]
THE TIME IS 6:00 AND A QUORUM IS PRESENT.
DR. STINSON WILL YOU CONFIRM THAT THE MEETING WAS DULY CALLED AND THE NOTICE OF THE MEETING WAS POSTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
YES, MR. TOLBERT WE DID POST THE MEETING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW.
[C. CLOSED SESSION]
WE WILL NOW CONVENE INTO CLOSED SESSION AS AUTHORIZED BY THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 551 SPECIFICALLY .074 PERSONNEL .072 REAL PROPERTY .071 CONSULTATION WITH BOARD'S ATTORNEY AND .076 SECURITY.[D. RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION]
OKAY. THE TIME IS 6:22 AND WE WILL NOW RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION.NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK AS NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK DURING THIS PORTION, WE
[F. BUDGET WORKSHOP]
WILL PROCEED TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA.STINSON, THAT'S YOU. VERY GOOD.
THANK YOU. SO THIS IS A CULMINATION OF MONTHS OF WORK, AND WE REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO PRESENTING YOU WITH THE PROPOSED INFORMATION FOR THE 22-23 SCHOOL YEAR.
AND SO I WILL PROMPTLY TURN IT OVER TO KATIE BOWMAN, OUR ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT OF FINANCE AND AUXILIARY SERVICES.
SO YOU HAVE NOTEBOOKS IN FRONT OF YOU.
THERE SHOULD BE A PRESENTATION.
THAT'S THE ONE THAT WE WILL GO OVER THIS EVENING.
THERE'S A TAB WITH INITIATIVES WE'LL TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT LATER THAT WILL BE AT THE NEXT WORKSHOP.
BUT WE WANT TO GIVE YOU THOSE DOCUMENTS AHEAD OF TIME SO THAT YOU'D HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO READ THROUGH THOSE.
WE WILL HAVE A FEW MORE AT THE NEXT MEETING THAT WE HAVE NOT COMPLETED YET, BUT TONIGHT WE'LL GIVE YOU A GOOD BUDGET OVERVIEW.
HOPEFULLY TONIGHT, MR. TOLBERT, WE CAN SCHEDULE THAT MAY MEETING, SO I'LL KNOW WHEN TO HAVE EVERYTHING READY FOR THE NEXT TIME.
ON JUNE 10TH, I WILL HAVE TO POST THE BUDGET TAX NOTICE IN THE STAR-TELEGRAM.
JUNE 23RD WE WILL HAVE THE BUDGET ADOPTION.
AND THEN AT OUR AUGUST 25TH MEETING, THE BOARD WILL ADOPT THE TAX RATE FOR THE 22, 23 YEAR. SO I WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE.
AND JUST KIND OF A REMINDER, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE'VE GONE OVER HOUSE BILL THREE.
SO OF COURSE, THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION WAS IN THE SPRING OF 19 AND SO HOUSE BILL THREE WAS EFFECTIVE FOR THE 19-20 SCHOOL YEAR.
THE STATE DID INCREASE THE BASIC ALLOTMENT FROM 5,140 TO 6,160, A GOOD 1,000 DOLLARS.
UNFORTUNATELY, THEY TOOK FUNDING AWAY FROM SOME DISTRICTS IN ORDER TO TAKE CARE OF THAT.
SO OUR DISTRICT LOST ABOUT $500 DOLLARS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THERE THAT THE STATE AVERAGE INCREASE PER ADA WAS $635.
BUT FOR BIRDVILLE, OUR BASE FUNDING INCREASE WAS ONLY 470.
SO WE WERE IN THAT LOWER PORTION.
I WON'T GO INTO IT TONIGHT, BUT THOSE OF YOU THAT WERE HERE AT THE TIME, YOU REMEMBER EVEN WITH THAT $470 DOLLARS PER ADA, A LOT OF THAT MONEY WENT INTO SPECIAL PROGRAMS, SO WE DIDN'T HAVE IT FOR REGULAR OPERATIONS, WHICH WAS UNFORTUNATE.
I WILL POINT OUT THAT WE HAVE NOT HAD AN INCREASE IN BASIC ALLOTMENT SINCE 19-20.
SO THIS BUDGET THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IS FLAT REVENUE SINCE THAT TIME.
IF YOU REMEMBER, INITIALLY THE STATE TOOK THE FUNDING INCREASE FROM HOUSE BILL THREE, COMPARED IT WITH OLD LAW AND EVERY DISTRICT WAS ALLOWED TO GET AT LEAST 103% OF WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE RECEIVED DURING OLD LAW.
SO THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS WE ACTUALLY HAD TRANSITION FUNDING AND IT DOES HAVE A DEADLINE. I THINK IT'S 24, 25 WHEN THOSE DOLLARS WOULD BE GONE.
WE NO LONGER ARE UNDER THAT TRANSITION FUNDING, WHICH THAT'S REALLY GOOD NEWS.
SO WE WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT.
TAX VALUE INCREASES, IF YOU'LL REMEMBER, ARE LIMITED TO TWO AND A HALF PERCENT.
THE MAIN THING I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER FROM THAT IS WE DON'T GET ANY REVENUE FROM THAT.
ALL IT DOES IS LOWER OUR TAX RATE WHILE THE CITIES THEY HAVE A A TAX RATE INCREASE LIMIT OF THREE AND A HALF PERCENT THEY DO COLLECT THAT REVENUE.
BUT DISTRICTS DO NOT GET ANY TAX REVENUE BEYOND WHAT THEY CALCULATE WITH THEIR ADA AND THEIR WADA. THERE IS A NEW ADDITIONAL HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION.
THERE'LL BE A MAY 7TH SPECIAL ELECTION.
AND SO THE INCREASE WILL BE FROM 25,000 TO 40,000 AND TEA WILL BE PROVIDING SOME HOLD HARMLESS BUT IT'S NOT FOREVER.
SO IT'S GOING TO LOCK IN WITH THIS NEW YEAR AND THEN WE WILL IN FUTURE YEARS WE WON'T GET THE BENEFIT OF THAT.
AND I'LL GO OVER A LITTLE BIT ON THIS JUST A LITTLE BIT LATER.
BUT IF YOU REMEMBER, WE NO LONGER CALCULATE OUR OWN TAX RATES.
WE GET OUR TAX VALUES FROM THE TARRANT APPRAISAL DISTRICT AT THE END OF JULY, THEN WE WILL SEND THAT TO THE TEA AND THEY WILL TELL US WHAT OUR DISTRICT TAX RATE WILL BE, AND
[00:05:01]
THAT WILL BE BY AUGUST 5TH.AND THEN JUST A REMINDER, I THOUGHT THIS WAS IMPORTANT.
SO WE HAVEN'T HAD A BASIC ALLOTMENT INCREASE SINCE 19-20.
BUT IF YOU REMEMBER FROM HOUSE BILL THREE, IT'S WORKED INTO THE LAW THAT ANY TIME WE GET A BASIC ALLOTMENT INCREASE, 30% OF THAT HAS TO BE USED FOR NON ADMINISTRATIVE RAISES.
SO IF THE LEGISLATURE, WHEN THEY'RE MEETING NEXT SPRING, DECIDE TO INCREASE OUR FUNDING, WHICH WE'RE ALL HOPING THAT HAPPENS, WE WILL HAVE TO ADDRESS COMPENSATION NEXT SPRING.
TAX RATES. SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE PROPOSING THAT THE RATE WILL NOT CHANGE.
THAT WILL STILL BE FOR THE M&O TAX RATE, 92.41 CENTS.
I DO AM ANTICIPATING WE'LL LOOK AT THIS IN JUST A MINUTE THAT OUR VALUES MAY INCH UP ENOUGH TO WHERE WE WILL HAVE SOME COMPRESSION.
AND I'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE INFORMATION ON THAT IN JUST A MOMENT.
WE'RE ALSO PROPOSING OUR I&S RATE TO REMAIN STEADY AT 41.39 CENTS.
AND I WANT TO BRING UP THIS TO YOU.
CURRENTLY, WITHIN OUR 92.41 CENTS, WE HAVE FIVE GOLDEN PENNIES.
AND REMEMBER THE GOLDEN PENNIES GUARANTEE A RATE OF TAX COLLECTIONS.
SO ONE PENNY GIVES US ABOUT $2.7 MILLION DOLLARS, WHICH IS REALLY NICE.
AND SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE FIVE GOLDEN PENNIES WITHIN OUR TAX RATE.
NOW ANY ADDITIONAL GOLDEN PENNIES WE CAN ONLY GET, THREE ADDITIONAL ONES WOULD TAKE A TAXPAYER ELECTION.
AND THEN THERE'S ALSO COPPER PENNIES ABOVE THAT.
SO THERE'S NINE COPPER PENNIES THAT WOULD GIVE US AND I'VE GOT THAT ON A FUTURE SLIDE.
I THINK IT'S AROUND $750,000 DOLLARS PER COPPER PENNY.
BUT WE WOULD HAVE TO GO TO THE VOTERS FOR APPROVAL TO DO ANY INCREASES.
SO LET ME GIVE YOU JUST A LITTLE ENROLLMENT UPDATE.
AND I THINK SOME OF YOU HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE.
JUST A REMINDER THAT IN 2017, WITH THE OPENING OF THE INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP CHARTER SCHOOL, WE LOST AROUND $3 MILLION DOLLARS IN GENERAL FUND REVENUE WHEN THOSE STUDENTS FROM OUR DISTRICT WENT TO THEIR CAMPUS.
AND THEN OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, THE DISTRICT HAS DROPPED AROUND 1000 STUDENTS DURING COVID 19.
AND WE'VE BEEN TOLD THAT AROUND THE STATE, WHILE OUR POPULATION IS GROWING, THERE HAS BEEN ABOUT 150,000 LESS STUDENTS ENROLLED IN SOME TYPE OF A PUBLIC EDUCATION ENTITY, INCLUDING CHARTERS.
AND JUST SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THIS FROM 2015 TO 2022, WE'VE LOST OUR ENROLLMENT HAS DECLINED AROUND 1,800.
AND WHILE WE PROBABLY I THINK WE'VE GOT ABOUT 1,000 STUDENTS AT THE ILT AND I THINK SOME OF THE DATA I WAS LOOKING AT EARLIER TONIGHT, ABOUT 1100 MORE KIDS GOING TO SOME TYPE OF A CHARTER SCHOOL.
THEY'RE JUST LESS STUDENTS IN THE STATE, GOING TO PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS RIGHT NOW.
DID YOU WANT TO COMMENT ON THAT.
WELL, MY COMMENT WAS THAT THIS MIMICS WHAT THE DEMOGRAPHER TOLD US ABOUT OUR AREA CURRENTLY AN AGED POPULATION IN TERMS OF THIS PART OF THE COUNTY.
YES, MA'AM. AND UNTIL THE POPULATION UNTIL WE GET NEW KIDDOS, MORE BABIES BORN IN OUR AREA. SURE. RIGHT. AND STARTING KINDERGARTEN, AT SOME POINT WE WILL SEE THAT TURN AROUND.
BUT CURRENTLY, THAT'S THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE IN, IN TERMS OF AGING IN OUR AREA.
THAT'S CORRECT. AND IF YOU REMEMBER FROM THE DEMOGRAPHERS REPORT, WE HAVE LARGER GRADUATING CLASSES THAN WE HAVE KINDERGARTEN CLASSES COMING IN.
AND SO OVER TIME, THAT REALLY DOES HAVE AN IMPACT ON OUR ENROLLMENT.
I MEAN, THAT WAS SOME OF THE THEORIES I READ ABOUT NOT JUST HERE, BUT IN OTHER DISTRICTS.
AND THEY JUST SAID, I'LL WAIT ANOTHER YEAR BEFORE I SEND MY KID TO SCHOOL.
AND I THINK IF YOU REMEMBER IN JUNE LAST YEAR, WHEN THE BUDGET WAS ADOPTED, COVID WAS WANING. WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF IT.
AND THEN IN AUGUST, THE DELTA VARIANT HIT AND THINGS TURNED AROUND QUITE A BIT.
AND I THINK THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME FAMILIES YOU GUYS, MENTIONED TO YOU BEFORE.
MY DAUGHTER IN LAW WORKS FOR ONE OF THE STATE ONLINE SCHOOLS, AND SHE TOLD ME THAT HER ENROLLMENT IS UP 15,000 STUDENTS AND THEY HAVE WAITING LISTS.
SO THAT MAY BE SOME OF THOSE STUDENTS.
YEAH DEFINITELY. I THINK STATISTICS ARE SHOWING THAT MORE STUDENTS ARE LEARNING FROM HOME THAN EVER BEFORE.
AND I GUESS JUST TO FINISH OFF WITH THIS SLIDE, REMEMBERING THAT STATE FUNDING DOES FOLLOW THE STUDENTS. SO WHEN THOSE STUDENTS GO SOMEWHERE ELSE AND WE'RE STILL HAVING TO TAKE CARE OF ALL OF OUR CAMPUSES, IT MAKES IT REALLY CHALLENGING.
IN FACT, TEXAS IS ONE OF VERY FEW STATES LEFT THAT DON'T FUND ON ENROLLMENT.
WHEN YOU FUND ON ATTENDANCE, IT REALLY MAKES IT DIFFICULT.
DID YOU WANT TO TALK? OH I'M SORRY.
OKAY. SO JUST LOOKING AT TAX VALUES AND TAX RATES OVER TIME, YOU CAN SEE OUR VALUES HAVE
[00:10:07]
CONTINUED TO INCREASE.WE'VE HAD SOME YEARS OF DOUBLE DIGITS.
SO THE RATE THAT I'M PROJECTING FOR 2023 IS AT 5%.
BUT I'VE MADE AN ADJUSTMENT BASED ON OUR ESTIMATED HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION FROM THAT MAY ELECTION. SO THAT 1.8% IS ACTUALLY MORE AROUND 5%.
WE'LL SEE WHEN WE GET THE VALUES FROM TAD.
JUST A LITTLE REMINDER ABOUT HOW STATE COMPRESSION WORKS.
THE TAX RATE. REMEMBER, THIS WAS FROM HOUSE BILL THREE, AND SO IT AUTOMATICALLY LOWERS A SCHOOL DISTRICT TAX RATE WHEN THE STATE OR LOCAL PROPERTY BASE GROWS BY MORE THAN TWO AND A HALF PERCENT. SO BASICALLY WHAT HAPPENS IS EACH YEAR THE COMPTROLLER LOOKS AT AND MAKES A PROJECTION OF WHAT THEY THINK VALUES ARE GOING TO DO.
AND THEN THEY SAY, WELL, IF IT'S OVER TWO AND A HALF PERCENT, THEN THE COMPTROLLER WILL IMMEDIATELY SAY, ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO LOWER THE RATE THAT ANY DISTRICT CAN PASS IN THEIR OR ADOPT IN THEIR DISTRICT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT ADJUSTS THE REVENUE FOR THAT TWO AND A HALF PERCENT LEVEL.
THEN EACH DISTRICT HAS TO LOOK INDIVIDUALLY.
SOMETIMES IT'S A LITTLE EASIER.
A FEW YEARS AGO, THE COMPTROLLER SAID THAT RATES OR VALUES WOULD GROW 4.1%, SO HE LOWERED THE ACTUAL MAXIMUM COMPRESSED RATE BASED ON THAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO AND A HALF PERCENT AND FOUR.
AND THEN WHEN THE DISTRICT GOT OUR VALUES, WE WERE AT 6%.
SO WE HAD TO LOWER OUR VALUES EVEN MORE.
AND SO EACH YEAR, THAT'S HOW THE COMPTROLLER LOOKS AT THOSE VALUES.
SO WHEN WE GIVE OUR VALUES TO THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY AT THE END OF JULY, THEN THEY WILL CALCULATE WHAT THAT COMPRESSION FOR US NEEDS TO BE.
AND YOU CAN SEE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS WITH COMPRESSION, OUR RATE HAS DROPPED ALMOST $0.12 CENTS. IT'S BEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT DROPS.
MANY OTHER DISTRICTS HAVE DROPPED EVEN FURTHER BECAUSE THEIR VALUES HAVE GROWN MORE THAN OURS. HERE'S ALL OF OUR TAX RATES.
YOU CAN SEE JUST A GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION.
YOU CAN SEE OUR I&S RATE HAS BEEN FAIRLY STEADY OVER THE YEARS.
SO LET'S GET INTO PROJECTIONS WHEN WE THINK ABOUT PROJECTION ASSUMPTIONS.
SO WE'RE NOT PROJECTING A CHANGE IN ENROLLMENT FOR 21-22.
THE AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE WHILE WE'VE BEEN AT 95.5, HISTORICALLY, WE'VE SEEN LOWER ATTENDANCE RATES OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS.
AND SO THE FIRST SEMESTER WE WERE AT 93.2, AND I THINK THE FIFTH SIX WEEKS WE'RE STILL ABOUT 93, 94.
BUT WE'RE REALLY HOPING NEXT YEAR THAT WITH THE COVID NUMBERS REALLY GETTING BETTER, THAT WE'LL GET STUDENTS BACK TO SCHOOL MORE.
AND SO WHILE WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL EVENTUALLY GET BACK UP TO THAT 95 AND A HALF PERCENT, WE THOUGHT IT WAS MORE CONSERVATIVE TO STAY WITH THE 94 AND A HALF.
DID YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING? I JUST THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE LOTS OF, WE'VE ALL FELT TRAUMA FROM THE PANDEMIC IN MANY WAYS.
THERE WAS THERE WERE SOME SILVER LININGS AND ONE OF THOSE WAS LEARNING BETTER USAGE OF TECHNOLOGY. AND WE LEARNED THAT WE COULD LEARN FROM HOME.
THE BAD THING FOR ATTENDANCE IS WE LEARNED THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM HOME USING THE TECHNOLOGY. AND SO, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WITH THE DELTA VARIANT HITTING IN AUGUST, WE SAW THAT AS AN ATTENDANCE HIT, YOU KNOW, FIRST SEMESTER OF SCHOOL.
SECOND SEMESTER, AGAIN, WE STARTED OFF WITH A NEW VARIANT IN JANUARY AGAIN.
AND SO WE'RE STILL TRYING TO RECOVER FROM THE DAILY ATTENDANCE PERCENTAGES EVEN FROM THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF.
WE THINK THAT WE GET ONE, ONE STEP AHEAD AND THEN TWO STEPS BACK WITH NEW VARIANTS.
THE POSITIVE IS THAT WE CAN, WE DO HAVE CANVAS, WE DO HAVE ONLINE LEARNING SYSTEMS. AND IN A WAY THAT'S OBVIOUSLY REALLY GOOD NEWS THAT WE'VE LEARNED HOW TO UTILIZE THAT.
ON THE OTHER HAND, IT MAKES IT REALLY EASY TO STAY HOME WHEN YOU DON'T FEEL GOOD.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S SILVER LINING AND IT'S NOT SO.
WE'RE NOT EXPECTING ANY CHANGE IN STATE FUNDING CALCULATIONS.
WE'RE PROJECTING A PROPERTY VALUE GROWTH OF 5% WITH REMAINING YEARS AT 3%.
SO BEING AT THE TARRANT APPRAISAL DISTRICT LAST WEEK, JEFF LAW WAS GIVING EACH DISTRICT A PROJECTION, AT LEAST ON THEIR HOUSING.
HE WAS PROJECTING BIRDVILLE'S HOUSING VALUES TO GO UP ON AVERAGE 20%.
WE HAVE STILL THE 10% CAP ON HOMESTEADS.
AND IN ADDITION, WE'VE GOT THIS NEW HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION INCREASE.
[00:15:01]
SO MAYBE THINKING THAT WE'LL FALL AT LEAST ON THE HOUSING SIDE AROUND 10%.WE DON'T HAVE THE COMMERCIAL NUMBERS, BUT THEY'RE GOING UP AS WELL.
SO THE 5% IS PROBABLY CONSERVATIVE, BUT BECAUSE I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING TO FALL, IT DOESN'T CHANGE OUR REVENUE MUCH ON THE M&O SIDE, CERTAINLY IT'LL BE BENEFICIAL IN THE I&S BUT WE WON'T HAVE THOSE RATES ADOPTED UNTIL AUGUST, SO WE HAVE TIME TO GET THERE. PROPERTY VALUES HAVE BEEN ADJUSTED BY THE INCREASE IN HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION.
WE HAVE FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR SUPPLANTED POSITIONS THROUGH 22-23.
SO THIS IS OUR LAST YEAR FOR ESSER 2.
AND THEN WE HAVE ESSER 3 FUNDING AVAILABLE THROUGH 23-24 FOR SUPPLANTED POSITIONS.
AND THEN JUST NOTE THESE INITIAL PROJECTIONS.
WE'VE DONE NO WORK ON THE BUDGET.
WE'LL HAVE THAT AS WE GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
BUT THIS IS JUST TO LET YOU SEE, WITH NO INCREASES OR REDUCTIONS TO THE CURRENT BUDGET SCENARIOS, THIS IS WHAT OUR BUDGET WOULD LOOK LIKE.
SO I'LL START OFF HERE WITH THE FIRST COLUMN, WHICH IS THE 2021 AUDITED FINANCIALS.
AND YOU CAN SEE WE ENDED THE YEAR AT 86 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS WITH ABOUT 40% OF FUND BALANCE, WHICH IS JUST A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL EXPENDITURES.
A LOT OF THE INCREASES OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS IN FUND BALANCE HAVE BEEN DUE TO A LOT OF THE COVID CLOSURES, AND WE JUST HAVE NOT HAD TO SPEND FUNDS.
YOU CAN SEE OUR PROJECTIONS FOR 21-22, AND I POINT OUT THERE THE PROJECTED DEFICIT.
WE DID ROLL OVER BUDGETS FROM THE 21-21 FISCAL YEAR FOR INCOMPLETE PROJECTS OF ABOUT $4.1 MILLION DOLLARS. AND I ALSO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT HERE THE YELLOW AT THE TOP.
SO I'VE CALCULATED WHAT I THINK TEA IS GOING TO GIVE US IN HOLD HARMLESS FUNDING.
SO THE COMMISSIONER TOLD US A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO THAT FOR THE FIRST THROUGH FOURTH SIX WEEKS, THEY ARE GOING TO GO BACK TO 19-20 AND LOOK AT OUR AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE, WHICH WAS 95 AND A HALF.
AND SO FOR THE FIRST FOUR SIX WEEKS, BASED ON ENROLLMENT EACH SIX WEEKS PERIOD, THAT WE COULD COUNT ON SOME ADDITIONAL REVENUE, BUT THEY WON'T ACTUALLY CALCULATE THOSE NUMBERS FOR US UNTIL SEPTEMBER.
SO WE'RE DOING ESTIMATES RIGHT NOW.
YES, SIR. SOMETHING ABOUT ATTENDANCE BEING THE DRIVING FORCE.
AND TEXAS IS ONE OF THE ONLY STATES THAT DOES BY ATTENDANCE, NOT ENROLLMENT.
HOW HARD OF A BATTLE IS THAT GOING TO BE THAT PEOPLE IN YOUR POSITION THROUGHOUT THE STATE? IF THEY'RE GOING TO PUSH? ARE WE TALKING TO OUR LEGISLATORS? HEY. WE HIRE PEOPLE.
WE HAVE FACILITIES READY FOR THIS MANY ENROLLED.
AND THE PAYROLL DOESN'T STOP BECAUSE THERE'S THREE LESS STUDENTS THAT DAY THAT TEACHER.
I MEAN, DO WE NEED TO START PUSHING AUSTIN TO THAT DIRECTION? I THINK THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF PUSH AND DR.
ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE WORK WITH THAT TESTIFY, THEY SHOW ALL OF THAT DATA AND ESPECIALLY I THINK THIS YEAR IT'S BEEN MORE PREVALENT THAN EVER AS WE'VE HAD COVID.
WHEN YOU'RE TELLING STUDENTS TO GO HOME AND THEN YOU'RE PENALIZING DISTRICTS BECAUSE YOU'VE TOLD STUDENTS TO GO HOME FOR HEALTH REASONS, I THINK IT IS GETTING THE ATTENTION NOW. THE FEAR IS THAT THEY'LL SPREAD THAT FUNDING AROUND.
SO WHEN THEY HAVE TO BUMP IT UP TO GIVE US FULL ENROLLMENT, THEN THEY MAY TRY TO FIND A WAY TO CUT IN SOME OTHER PLACES.
BUT CERTAINLY THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE, IT WOULD AT LEAST EASE OUR MIND AND KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO DURING THE YEAR FOR REVENUE.
YEAH. AND SHE'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'VE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR.
WE WON'T STOP ADVOCATING FOR IT.
WE'RE PUSHING IT. I HAVE SOME GENUINE HOPE THAT THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION WILL BRING US SOME RELIEF. WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF THE FORMULA. THEY SURPRISE US EACH AND EVERY TIME WITH THE FORMULA.
SO BUT I DON'T HARBOR A LOT OF HOPE THAT IT WILL CHANGE IN TERMS OF ATTENDANCE OR ENROLLMENT. BUT I DO THINK THAT WE WILL RECEIVE SOME RELIEF THROUGHOUT THE FORMULA, LIKE KATIE SAID, MAYBE IN OTHER AREAS.
THE STATE HAS SEEN AN INCREASE IN PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT EVERY YEAR SINCE 1997, 88 SCHOOL YEAR UP UNTIL 2021, WHEN ENROLLMENT DECREASED BY 2.2% TO 5.3 MILLION STUDENTS, ROUGHLY A LOSS OF ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FOUR STUDENTS FROM THE 2019 20 SCHOOL YEAR, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST TEA NUMBERS.
ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO SORRY.
COMMON SENSE HAS GOT TO COME INTO PLAY SOONER OR LATER.
WE BUDGET EVERYTHING WE HIRE EVERYTHING WE HAVE THE LIGHTS TURN ON THIS MANY BUILDINGS.
[INAUDIBLE] HOW MANY KIDS HAVE ENROLLED?
[00:20:03]
ANY OTHER BUSINESS MODEL YOU HAVE TO DO THAT EXCEPT TEA.THAT'S CORRECT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE I GO ON? OK. SO THIS NUMBER IN FUND BALANCE.
SO IF WE LOOK AT THAT, 36% DOES NOT INCLUDE THE MOST RECENT PURCHASE OF THE WISDOM CENTER. I DIDN'T WANT TO DISTORT THE EXPENDITURES.
SO WHAT I'VE DONE IN THIS NEXT SLIDE, THE WISDOM CENTER WAS PURCHASED FROM COMMITTED FUND BALANCE. SO RATHER THAN DISTORT OUR EXPENDITURES AND OUR PERCENTAGES, I HAVE REDUCED THIS ENDING NUMBER TO WHAT IT WILL BE WITH THE WISDOM CENTER OUT.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BE STARTING NEXT YEAR WITH 32.5% OF OUR FUND BALANCE OF EXPENDITURES. SO STARTING THERE.
AND REMEMBER, THESE ARE PROJECTIONS WITHOUT ANY INCREASES OR DECREASES THAT THE DISTRICT STAFF HAVE BEEN WORKING ON.
SO FOR NEXT YEAR, PROJECTING AT 94 AND A HALF PERCENT WITH 5% TAX GROWTH, AND THIS INCLUDES OUR ESSER FUNDS.
SO YOU CAN SEE I HAVE A LINE ITEM HERE FOR ESSER.
SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE REVENUE AS WE GO OUT ALL FIVE YEARS.
THE SUPPLANTED POSITIONS ARE ALSO INSIDE OUR PAYROLL NUMBER.
SO THE NEXT YEAR YOU CAN SEE WE'VE DROPPED DOWN TO JUST ESSER 1.
THIS NUMBER IN 22, 23 INCLUDES ESSER 2 AND 3, WHICH REMEMBER WE ONLY HAD THAT FOR ONE MORE YEAR AND THEN WE HAVE ESSER 3 AND THEN THE NEXT TWO YEARS IS WHERE WE REALLY SEE THE DROP BECAUSE WE'VE LOST THE ESSER FUNDS.
AND I'VE GOT SOME OTHER SLIDES TO KIND OF SHOW YOU WHAT CAN HAPPEN.
SO THE STAFF HAVE BEEN WORKING.
AND SO TO START OFF WITH OUR PROPOSED BUDGET, WE HAVE HAD STAFFING REDUCTIONS DUE TO LOWER ENROLLMENT OF 1.82 MILLION.
WE CUT DEPARTMENT AND CAMPUS BUDGETS, NON PAYROLL BUDGETS WHERE WE CAN $2 MILLION DOLLARS. SO WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 3.8 MILLION REDUCTIONS.
AND THEN THANKS TO THE HARD WORK OF DR.
OWNBY, WE HAVE ESTIMATED TUITION LESS THE POSITIONS WE WILL NEED OF 260,000 FOR THE TUITION BASED PRE-K.
SO THAT'S WONDERFUL. AND THE MORE OF THOSE STUDENTS WE CAN GET, THE BETTER OFF IT'S OUR REVENUE IS GOING TO BE. SO LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT THAT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT COLUMN OF 22, 23 MOVED FROM A DEFICIT TO A POSITIVE NUMBER OF A LITTLE OVER $1,000,000 DOLLARS AS WE START OUR WORK TONIGHT.
SO AS YOU LOOK OUT IN FUTURE YEARS, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE SOME CONCERNS, BUT THERE ARE SOME HOPES.
AND AS WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE FALL WHEN WE FIRST WENT OVER THIS, THIS SITUATION WE'RE IN WITH THE LOSS OF ENROLLMENT, THAT'S STRICTLY WHAT'S HAPPENED.
THAT'S WHY OUR REVENUE HAS BEEN IMPACTED.
THERE'S A MULTI STEP PIECE THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH MULTI YEAR, MULTI STEP PIECE IN ORDER TO GET OUR BUDGET BACK TO WHERE WE WANT IT TO BE.
SO SOME OF THE FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS, IF WE CAN GET THAT ATTENDANCE UP, A 1% ATTENDANCE WOULD BE ABOUT $1.7 MILLION DOLLARS.
SO THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING AS WE WORK WITH CAMPUSES NEXT YEAR TO DO ATTENDANCE INCENTIVES AND MAYBE EVEN EDUCATING OUR FAMILIES ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR STUDENTS TO COME TO SCHOOL. YES, MA'AM. AND KATIE, I THINK IF EVEN THOUGH I WASN'T HERE, I THINK THAT CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT THE AVERAGE THE ATTENDANCE PERCENTAGE PRE-COVID WAS 95.5.
SO THAT'S THE GOAL. THAT'S CORRECT.
TO GET BACK TO PRE-COVID ATTENDANCE THAT'S ATTAINABLE. RIGHT. YES, MA'AM. IT'S DEFINITELY ATTAINABLE.
YES, MA'AM. IF WE CAN JUST START A YEAR WITHOUT A PANDEMIC, WE HOPE THAT WE CAN GET THERE. BUT FROM A CONSERVATIVE PERSPECTIVE, WE'VE USED 94 AND A HALF.
THIS IS PART OF THAT MULTI STEP PLAN.
THE NEXT THING IS AN INCREASE IN ENROLLMENT.
IF, IN FACT, THERE ARE STUDENTS AT HOME AND THE PARENTS ARE READY FOR THEM TO COME BACK TO SCHOOL, THEY FEEL SAFE.
FOR 100 STUDENTS, WE COULD GENERATE ABOUT 629,000 DOLLARS.
SO IF WE SEE AN INCREASE IN ENROLLMENT, THAT'S CERTAINLY GOING TO HELP US.
INTEREST INCOME AS WE SEE INTEREST RATES RISE THAT'S NOT ALWAYS GREAT FOR OUR BOND PROGRAM, BUT CERTAINLY IT'S GOOD FOR EARNING REVENUE.
WE'VE BEEN AT ALMOST A NONEXISTENT INTEREST RATE FOR A WHILE AND AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE LIMITED IN WHAT WE CAN INVEST IN.
SO THAT'S A NUMBER THAT I'M GOING TO SEE, HOPEFULLY, SEE GOING UP THIS YEAR.
WE DO HAVE A SPRING LEGISLATIVE SESSION AND WE'VE BEEN FOUR YEARS WITHOUT AN INCREASE.
AND SO I REALLY DO THINK OUR LEGISLATORS UNDERSTAND AT SOME POINT THERE'S SO MANY THINGS THEY COULD DO THAT WOULDN'T COST THEM ANY MONEY.
MAYBE THEY LET US HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT TWO AND A HALF PERCENT REVENUE.
THAT TAX REVENUE INCREASE ONLY BENEFITS THEM.
[00:25:01]
THEY COULD LET US HAVE SOME OF THAT.THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS THEY COULD DO TO HELP US OUT.
MAYBE WE COULD GET ANOTHER GOLDEN PENNY.
THERE'S SOME DIFFERENT THINGS.
I THINK AS WE TALK TO OUR LEGISLATORS, WE CERTAINLY WANT TO HAVE THOSE IDEAS READY FOR THEM. AND THIS IS ANOTHER OPTION WE COULD DO A VOTER APPROVED TAX RATE ELECTION.
WHEN I SAY VATRE, THAT'S WHAT THAT IS.
AND WE COULD LOOK MAYBE AT JUST DOING THOSE THREE GOLDEN PENNIES.
AS I MENTIONED, THEY ARE VERY VALUABLE TO US.
SO WE COULD GENERATE AROUND $8 MILLION DOLLARS IF WE PICKED UP THOSE OTHER THREE GOLDEN PENNIES. NOW, IF WE DID A [INAUDIBLE] THIS WAS THE NUMBER I TOLD YOU EARLIER.
SO IF WE DID A VATRE FOR FOUR PENNIES, THREE OF THOSE WOULD BE GOLDEN.
BECAUSE REMEMBER, WE CAN ONLY GET THREE MORE GOLDEN PENNIES.
AND THEN WE COULD, WE WOULD PICK UP ONE COPPER.
AND THE COPPER ARE WORTH ABOUT 750,000 DOLLARS PER PENNY AND WE HAVE NINE AVAILABLE.
SO A VATRE COULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE IN OUR FUTURE.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT STAFF REDUCTIONS THROUGH ATTRITION AS POSITIONS ARE VACATED.
WE'LL LOOK AT THOSE CLOSELY TO MAKE SURE THEY REALLY DO NEED TO BE FILLED.
AND THEN ANOTHER PIECE OF THIS, AND THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT AS WE WORK ON OUR BOND ELECTION. ADDITIONAL PARTNER SCHOOLS COULD HELP US SAVE AROUND $1.2 MILLION DOLLARS PER SCHOOL. NOW I'VE GOT A CHART THAT I WANT TO SHOW YOU THAT I'VE PUT TOGETHER BASED ON ACTUAL DATA FROM LAST YEAR, IT'S OUR AUDITED 2021 CAMPUS COST BASED ON ENROLLMENT.
IT'S NOT PER SCHOOL IT'S PER COMBINED SCHOOL. IT'S EVERY COST FOR THAT ONE SCHOOL.
IF YOU COMBINE TWO INTO ONE YOU'LL SAVE 1.2 MILLION PER YEAR? YES, SIR IF WE COMBINE THE SCHOOLS BECAUSE WE'LL BE SHUTTING DOWN OPERATIONS AT ONE.
SO YOU CAN SEE ENROLLMENT IS OVER HERE ON THE LEFT AXIS AND THEN THE COST PER STUDENT IS ON THE RIGHT. AND YOU CAN SEE WITH THOSE CAMPUSES GET LARGER, THERE'S SOME SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS FOR THE DISTRICT.
SO THOSE ARE SOME THINGS WE MAY HAVE TO LOOK AT IN THE FUTURE.
I'LL GIVE YOU A MINUTE TO STUDY THAT.
SOME OF THESE ANOMALIES THAT YOU MAY SEE MAYBE RESULTED FROM IF THEY DON'T HAVE AS MANY SPECIAL PROGRAMS. SO WHEN YOU SEE A SMITHFIELD ELEMENTARY DIP DOWN, THEY ALSO YOU KNOW, EACH SCHOOL HAS DIFFERENT TYPES OF STAFF WITH DIFFERENT YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
SO THOSE COULD IMPACT SOME OF THEM.
BUT I THINK IT'S PRETTY CLEAR, ESPECIALLY AS YOU GET OVER HERE TO OUR LARGER CAMPUSES, BINION, BIRDVILLE [INAUDIBLE], WEST BIRDVILLE, AND WATAUGA, WHICH ARE OUR LARGEST CAMPUSES, THAT THE COSTS GO DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY.
I THINK THAT'S THE BEAUTY OR THE NICE THING ABOUT NEWER SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
DISTRICTS THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND A WHILE LIKE US PROBABLY HAVE THE SMALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. THAT'S RIGHT. YES, SIR.
FOR THE NEWER DISTRICTS, MAYBE THE FAST GROWTH DISTRICTS DON'T HAVE THAT.
THAT'S RIGHT. AND SO THEY'RE RUNNING MORE EFFICIENTLY.
AND I THINK SOME OF THE THINGS MR. BASKERVILLE HAS AND I THINK DR.
OWNBY HAVE MENTIONED BEFORE, IS WHEN YOU HAVE SOME OF THE SMALLER SCHOOLS MAY ONLY HAVE TWO CLASSES PER GRADE.
AND SO IF YOU HAVE 30 STUDENTS IN THAT ONE GRADE, THEN YOU'VE GOT TO HIRE TWO TEACHERS, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE 15 IN EACH CLASS, WHEREAS IN A LARGER CAMPUS, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD DO MORE WITH THAT. SO THAT JUST MAKES IT REALLY, REALLY CHALLENGING.
AND I THINK ALSO ISN'T IT TRUE THAT THE TEACHERS LIKE HAVING MORE COLLEAGUES IN THE SAME GRADE TO COLLABORATE WITH AS WELL? THEIR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TIME CAN BE CHALLENGING WHEN IT'S SMALL.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT PORTION OF THE PRESENTATION? I THINK A CRITICAL FACTOR IS GOING TO BE YOUR PROJECTIONS.
THAT PREVIOUS SLIDE THOSE WERE OFF 15 TO 20% OF ACTUAL ENROLLMENT.
WE'VE GOT TO GET THAT SQUEEZED DOWN WHERE THEY'RE CLOSER.
I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL, BUT THAT'S A PRETTY BIG GAP, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT WHAT 100 STUDENTS DO FOR US, POSITIVELY, 100 LESS IS NEGATIVE TO US.
YOU MEAN IN THE OVERALL BUDGET OR YOU MEAN BY CAMPUS? [INAUDIBLE] PICK OUT THOSE OH. OH, HERE. GREEN VALLEY PROJECTED 483 AND THERE'S 411, RIGHT.
WELL THAT'S 70 SOMETHING STUDENTS.
NOW. THAT'S A PRETTY BIG JUMP.
THAT'S RIGHT. NOW, IN THEIR DEFENSE, THIS WAS THE FIRST FULL COVID YEAR.
I UNDERSTAND. SO THAT COULD HAVE AN IMPACT ON THAT.
YES, SIR. BUT I THINK I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL.
YES, SIR. BUT WE'VE GOT TO GET THOSE NUMBERS CLOSER TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS IN MY MIND.
I MEAN, IF WE THAT MAY AFFECT WE DON'T HIRE AS MANY TEACHERS IF WE SQUEEZE THOSE NUMBERS
[00:30:03]
DOWN. YES.YOU NEVER GET AN ARGUMENT AND SAY, OH, MY GOSH.
WE HAD 150 MORE KIDS SHOW UP AFTER THE TUESDAY AFTER LABOR DAY.
CAN WE GO HIRE SOME MORE TEACHERS? WE'RE GOING TO SAY SURE, THEY'LL DO IT.
BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SAY, CAN I GET RID OF FIVE TEACHERS? BECAUSE WE'RE 150 SHORT.
WE DON'T WANT TO DO THAT. YES, SIR.
IT'S A TOUGH ONE. I THINK NOBODY HAS THE CRYSTAL BALL.
WE GOT TO DO THE BEST DATA WE CAN TO SQUEEZE IT DOWN WHERE THOSE NUMBERS ARE CLOSER TOGETHER. THE SAME THING HAPPENS IN OUR SECONDARY SCHOOLS, TOO.
ONE THING, IF I MAY ADD, THAT ONCE SCHOOL STARTS AND WE SEE THOSE NUMBERS ARE OFF, WE DO TRY TO SHIFT TEACHERS TO WHERE THOSE STUDENTS.
KATIE SO WHAT'LL HAPPEN IS WE'LL MOVE THOSE TEACHERS, SAY, AT GREEN VALLEY, AS YOU MENTIONED, OVER TO MAYBE WHERE THEY'RE CERTIFIED TO TEACH AT BINION, YOU KNOW, WATAUGA INSTEAD OF HIRING.
SO WE DO, DO THAT SHIFT AFTER WE SEE WHAT WE CALL THE WHITES OF THEIR EYES ONCE THEY SHOW UP. SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE TRY TO DO.
WE DO ADJUST. WE DO STAFFING IN FEBRUARY, MARCH, AND THEN WE ADJUST AGAIN ONCE SCHOOL STARTS, WHEN ENROLLMENT COMES IN.
IN ELEMENTARY, IT'S A LOT EASIER TO DO THAN SECONDARY.
BUT THAT'S WE DEFINITELY CAN DEFINITELY DO A BETTER JOB OF THAT.
BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE ALSO DO ONCE SCHOOL STARTS TO TRY TO MOVE TOWARD THE STUDENTS [INAUDIBLE]. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS SO FAR? SO LET'S MOVE ON TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR COMPENSATION.
SO TEACHER SALARIES IN TEXAS SORRY, WE DO AN ANNUAL SALARY REVIEW, AND THESE ARE THE COMPARISON DISTRICTS THAT WE'VE USED AS A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE BOARD FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
YOU CAN SEE KELLER, GRAPEVINE, GRAPEVINE-COLLEYVILLE, EAGLE MOUNTAIN, MANSFIELD, NORTHWEST AND CARROLL.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF OUR MAJOR COMPETITORS AS FAR AS TEACHING POSITIONS.
SO THIS IS A CHART THAT I PULLED OUT OF THE TASB WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY LOOK AT THOSE SPECIFIC DISTRICTS.
AND IF YOU'LL NOTICE UP HERE, ONE OF THE BOARD'S GOALS IN THE PAST HAS BEEN TO STAY AT THE MARKET MEDIAN.
SO THESE PERCENTAGES RIGHT HERE SHOW YOU THIS IS BIRDVILLE, MY ORGANIZATION, AND THIS IS THE MEDIAN OF THE GROUPS THAT WE COMPARE WITH.
SO YOU CAN SEE RIGHT HERE WE ARE AT 100% OF THE MARKET, 100% HERE AT 5 YEAR.
WE DIP A LITTLE BIT AT 10 YEAR AND A LITTLE BIT AT 15 AND THEN WE'RE BACK UP AT 20 YEAR AT ABOUT 100%.
SO NOW THE HIGHEST ON THE SCHEDULE YOU CAN SEE WE ARE LOWER THERE.
AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE AREAS THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO ADDRESS IN THIS BUDGET AS WE BRING THAT FORWARD.
AND THIS IS A GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF THAT JUST SHOWING, AS THE BOARD HAS REQUESTED, WE TRY TO STAY RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR COMPETITORS.
KATIE, REMIND ME WHY HEB IS NOT IN THIS GROUP.
DO YOU REMEMBER? I DON'T REMEMBER.
THEY HAVE VERY LARGE CLASS SIZES AND MUCH HIGHER SALARIES.
SO WE PROVIDE A LOT MORE SUPPORT FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE THAN THEY DO.
THEY'RE NOT APPLES AND APPLES COMPARISON BECAUSE OF THE CLASSROOM SIZES.
WE WERE STILL IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE EVEN WITH HEB IN THERE.
SO SOME OTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR SALARIES.
OUR BUS DRIVERS ARE CURRENTLY AT $19.50 PER HOUR.
AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THAT BOTTOM BULLET SURROUNDING DISTRICT'S CURRENT STARTING PAY, CARROLL, IS AT 21 WITH 2,000 DOLLAR SIGNING BONUS AND NOW THAT'S THIS IS THIS YEAR.
KELLER IS AT 20 WITH A 1,000 SIGNING BONUS.
NORTHWEST AT 20, HEB IS AT 1,902, GRAPEVINE- COLLEYVILLE IS AT 19 AND FORT WORTH IS AT 22 WITH A 1,000 DOLLAR SIGNING BONUS.
SO WE KNEW WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO ADJUST OUR BUS DRIVER PAY.
WE DO HAVE ABOUT NINE OR TEN OPEN POSITIONS RIGHT NOW THAT THE OFFICE STAFF ARE FILLING.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE ABSENTEEISM AS WELL.
SO WE'D LIKE TO KEEP THE DRIVERS WE HAVE AND HOPEFULLY DRAW IN SOME OTHERS FOR COMPETITIVE SALARIES.
SO WE'D LIKE TO PROPOSE THAT WE INCREASE THE BUS DRIVER PAY, STARTING PAY FROM $19.50 TO $22 AN HOUR.
WHEN IS YOUR BIGGEST TIME TO DO THAT HIRING? IS IT SUMMER? THEY DO IN THE SUMMER BECAUSE THEY DON'T WORK IN THE SUMMER.
WE DO HAVE SOME SPECIAL PROGRAMS LIKE IN JUNE, BUT MOST OF THE DRIVERS DON'T START BACK
[00:35:01]
TO WORK UNTIL AUGUST.SO THEY START THEY INTERVIEW ALL THE TIME.
BUT YES, SIR, IT WOULD BE MORE IN JULY.
AND YOU ARE PROPOSING HERE THEY WOULDN'T GET THE PAY RAISE UNTIL JULY 1.
THEY WOULD GET THE PAY RAISE WHEN THEY START TO WORK IN AUGUST, JUST LIKE TEACHERS.
SO WHEN WE DO PAY RAISES FOR TEACHERS, THAT IS THEIR FIRST PAYCHECK IN SEPTEMBER BECAUSE THEIR PAY FOR THIS YEAR IS PAID OUT THROUGH AUGUST.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? JUST WONDERING IF MIC]. WELL, SO FAR THEY'VE BEEN IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE SO FAR.
YES, SIR. WELL, THEY HAVE THE BUS DRIVERS LIKE WORKING HERE.
WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD DEPARTMENT.
THEY HAVE LITTLE PARTIES AND COOKOUTS.
AND SO I HAD ASKED SHERI NGUYEN EARLIER IN THE YEAR, ARE WE GOING TO LOSE PEOPLE? DO WE NEED TO WAIT? AND I THINK IF WE CAN ANNOUNCE WHAT WE'RE DOING, I THINK THAT'S GOING TO MOTIVATE A LOT OF THEM TO STAY BECAUSE A LOT OF THESE DISTRICTS THAT DO THE SIGN ON BONUS, THEY HAVE TO WORK THERE A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME, SOMETIMES, MAYBE THE WHOLE YEAR TO GET THOSE GET THOSE DOLLARS. BUT I DO APPRECIATE THAT.
I THINK WE'RE OKAY AS LONG AS WE CAN MAKE THAT ANNOUNCEMENT AT SOME POINT.
SO THEY'LL KNOW NOT TO LOOK FOR SOMETHING IN THE SUMMER.
YES, SIR. SO I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO MAKE SURE THIS WASN'T IN HERE.
SO I HOPE I'M NOT STEALING YOUR THUNDER.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO CUSTODIAL? YEAH, THAT'S THE NEXT SLIDE. OH, IS IT REALLY? YEAH. OKAY.
GOTCHA. KATIE, I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
SO THE SIGN ON BONUS, WHAT DOES THAT EQUATE TO OVER THE YEAR? IF THEY'RE WAITING TILL THE END OF THE YEAR TO PAY IT OUT, 1,000 OR 2,000.
SOMETIMES THEY HAVE TO BE THERE MAYBE A WHOLE SEMESTER TO GET IT.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE WHAT WE'VE DONE BEFORE WITH THE RETENTION BONUSES.
WE GIVE THOSE TO PEOPLE AT A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME, LIKE IF THEY COME BACK TO THE DISTRICT AND WORKED, BUT THEY'VE GOT TO HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED AT A CERTAIN POINT IN TIME.
RIGHT. WHAT I'M ASKING, THOUGH, IS IF YOU TAKE SAY, CARROLL ISD 21 AN HOUR WITH THE 2,000 SIGN ON BONUS, WHAT WOULD THAT EQUATE TO PER AN HOURLY WAGE.
$21 DOLLARS TIMES 2,080 IS 40,000 ISH.
YEAH THEY. TWO THOUSAND IT WOULD BE ABOUT 5% OF THEIR TOTAL PAY.
YEAH, THEY WORK BUS DRIVERS WORK A GUARANTEED FOUR AND A HALF HOURS A DAY, SO THEY GET GUARANTEED. SO IT'D BE A LITTLE LESS THAN THAT.
BUT THEN MOST OF THEM, BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY ADDITIONAL ROUTES DURING THE DAY WITH GT AND BCTAL, WE KEEP THEM BUSY.
SO A LOT OF THEM GET TO WORK A FULL TIME JOB THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WHICH IS REALLY NICE FOR THEM. ANY QUESTIONS ON THE BUS DRIVERS? NOW THE CUSTODIAL.
SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE 47 OPEN CUSTODIAL POSITIONS.
THE STARTING PAY RIGHT NOW IS 12.99.
NOW WE HAVE SEVERAL OTHER POSITIONS IN THAT PARTICULAR PAY GRADE.
GROUNDS. WE HAVE OUR CAFETERIA SPECIALIST, WHICH WE'VE HAD HUGE VACANCIES IN THAT DURING THE YEAR. DUTY SERGEANT HAS DONE A GOOD JOB OF SHIFTING PEOPLE AROUND ON A DAILY BASIS, AND I BELIEVE OUR WAREHOUSE WORKERS MAY BE IN THAT ONE AS WELL.
SO WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT WE RAISE THE STARTING PAY FOR THAT PAY GRADE FROM $12.99 TO $15.00 DOLLARS. I THINK MR. SHINGO HAS TOLD ME THAT HE'S HAD DIFFICULTY GETTING ANYONE TO COME IN THE DOOR FOR $12.99. HE SAID NORMALLY ONCE HE CAN GET THEM IN THE DOOR, HE CAN TALK HIM INTO COMING BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE THE ATMOSPHERE THAT THEY HAVE HERE IN BIRDVILLE AND PEOPLE LIKE TO STAY. SO I THINK HE'S COMFORTABLE.
OBVIOUSLY, THERE'S HIGHER RATES AROUND, BUT AT SOME POINT THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH WE CAN DO.
SO I THINK HE WAS COMFORTABLE THE 15 WOULD AT LEAST ATTRACT PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THE BENEFITS OF TRS AND REALLY THE SCHEDULES AND THE WAY THINGS ARE WORKING FOR A DISTRICT.
THE SECOND ONE IS INCREASE OUR BUS MONITORS FROM 11.88 TO 13.00.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE ABOUT EIGHT OPENINGS THERE.
MOST OF OUR BUS SPECIAL ED BUSSES BY ARD ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A BUS MONITOR AND THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE CAN'T PUT ONE ON THE BUS, SO WE TEND TO FOCUS IN ON THE ONES THAT HAVE WHEELCHAIRS. SO WITH THOSE VACANCIES, WE HAVE TO PULL OFF THE STAFF OUT TO BE ON THOSE BUSSES SO THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT THE STUDENTS HAVE THE SUPPORT WHILE THEY'RE ON THE BUSSES. BUT AT 11.88 AND WORKING FOUR AND A HALF HOURS A DAY, IT'S DIFFICULT TO FIND PEOPLE THAT WANT TO WORK SO THAT ONE WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO MOVE TO 13.
AND THEN THE LICENSE TRADES, WE KNOW THEY'RE GOING FOR A LOT TODAY, BUT WE'D LIKE TO MOVE AND IF YOU'LL LOOK AT THE SCALE ON THE SIDE I GAVE YOU THE MT IS OUR MANUAL TRADES, AND THEN THE LT IS ALL OF OUR LICENSE TRADES.
SO WE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE OUR LICENSE TRADES FROM $23.37 TO $25 DOLLARS FOR STARTING PAY.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, AS THESE ADJUSTMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE, I'VE HAD TO MOVE SOME OF THE OTHER PAY GRADES SO THAT THEY'RE NOT TOO CLOSE TOGETHER.
SO THE MIDDLE SECTIONS, WE DID ADJUSTMENTS LAST YEAR, BUT WE'RE DOING THE LOWER SECTIONS
[00:40:01]
AND THEN THE L SCHEDULES ARE THE ONES THAT WE'RE ADJUSTING.SO THE TOTAL COST BECAUSE WE'VE GOT ABOUT 500 EMPLOYEES THAT WORK OFF OF THIS SCALE IS GOING TO BE AROUND 488,000 DOLLARS FOR THESE ADJUSTMENTS.
THE BUS DRIVERS, THERE'S NOT AS MANY.
DID Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? OKAY. LET'S MOVE ON.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX ROSE TO A 40 YEAR HIGH IN MARCH AT EIGHT AND A HALF PERCENT.
I'M SURE YOU ALL HAVE BEEN FEELING THAT AT THE PUMP AND IN THE GROCERY STORE.
I BOUGHT MY SON IN LAW THAT CAME THIS WEEKEND.
BACON. I NEVER COOKED PORK BACON.
BUT IT WAS OVER $8 FOR A PACKAGE OF BACON.
AND I COOKED A PACKAGE OF TURKEY BACON AND A PACKAGE OF PORK BACON.
[LAUGHTER] SO I WAS LIKE, OKAY, HE LIKES BACON.
Y'ALL DIDN'T REALLY NEED TO KNOW THAT, DID YOU? SORRY. I AM TIRED.
OKAY. SO RAISES HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED BY SOME AREA DISTRICTS.
WE HAVEN'T HEARD FROM ALL OF THEM.
WE KNOW I THINK NORTHWEST HAS ANNOUNCED THEIRS AT 3%.
AND THEN ON MY CFO CALLS, MOST OF THEM ARE TALKING ABOUT 3% JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE FEELING THE PRESSURE FROM THE OTHER DISTRICTS AROUND, BECAUSE IT'S JUST A VERY DIFFICULT TIME FOR STAFF. COST OF LIVING IS VERY, VERY CHALLENGING.
SO IN LIGHT OF THAT, I JUST ALWAYS GIVE YOU GUYS SOME OPTIONS.
SO A 1% SALARY INCREASE FOR ALL STAFF WOULD BE ABOUT 1.93 MILLION, 2%, 3.86 AND 3% FOR ABOUT 5.8 MILLION.
WELL, SOME OF THOSE WILL LOOK LIKE, BUT I THOUGHT, MR. TOLBERT, IF Y'ALL WANT TO HAVE SOME, YOU ALL WANT TO HAVE SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT COMPENSATION? FIRST, I WANT TO ASK YOU, WHAT ARE YOU KIND OF LOOKING FOR A CONSENSUS TONIGHT FROM THE BOARD IF POSSIBLE? YES, SIR. I WAS HOPING, LIKE WE DID LAST YEAR, THAT WE COULD HAVE COMPENSATION AGENDA ITEM ON NEXT WEEK'S BOARD MEETING SO THAT WE CAN ANNOUNCE TO OUR STAFF WHO MIGHT BE OUT POSSIBLY THINKING ABOUT LOOKING FOR JOBS FOR NEXT YEAR, ESPECIALLY FOR DISTRICTS THAT HAVE ALREADY ANNOUNCED WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE DOING.
SO THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US, AND ESPECIALLY AS MR. BASKERVILLE AND HIS STAFF ARE RECRUITING.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THIS INFORMATION TO OUR CUSTODIAL STAFF AND OUR BUS DRIVERS NEXT WEEK SO THAT WE CAN ENCOURAGE THEM TO STAY.
AND CERTAINLY WE HAVE SOME GREAT PEOPLE.
OKAY. WHY DON'T I KIND OF BREAK IT UP INTO A COUPLE OF SECTIONS FIRST? WHY DON'T I TAKE KIND OF AS A LUMP SUM THE DRIVERS, BUS DRIVERS AND THE AUXILIARY STAFF? AND WHY DON'T I START OVER HERE FIRST, YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT HER PROPOSED NUMBERS, MATT.
JUST THOSE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE TEACHER.
NOT TALKING ABOUT THE ONE, TWO OR 3% FOR OTHER OTHERS.
JUST BUS DRIVERS, CUSTODIAN AND LICENSE TRADES.
YEAH. NO, I MEAN, MY GENERAL THOUGHTS ARE THIS IS SOMETHING WE HAVE TO DO OR WE'RE GOING TO LOSE BUS DRIVERS.
MY BOY IS WORKING AT HOME DEPOT AND THEY'RE PAYING AN 18 YEAR OLD 15.50 AN HOUR.
SO I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY GET CUSTODIANS TO CLEAN UP VOMIT AND PEE AND POOP AND EVERYTHING ELSE FOR 13 BUCKS AN HOUR.
WE GOT TO DO, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
SO, I MEAN, I'M WHOLLY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
WHO'S GOING TO DO THAT JOB? IT'S A THANKLESS JOB.
AND MOST CUSTODIANS NEED IT, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE LAST TWO YEARS OF SANITIZING SCHOOLS AND ALL THE COVID STUFF.
THOSE CUSTODIANS HAVE WORKED HARD.
ALL THE BUS DRIVERS HAVE TOO THEY'VE HAD TO GO THROUGH, DO THE SAME THINGS ON THE BUSSES AND STUFF. SO WE HAVE TO FIND ROOM IN THE BUDGET FOR IT.
AND I TRUST YOU TO FIND THAT ROOM.
YEAH. HOW ABOUT YOU, MR. DAVIS? WE'VE GOT TO DO IT.
I'M TELLING YOU. WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO HIRE SOMEBODY FOR THE LAST TWO MONTHS.
STARTING POSITION WE'LL TRAIN YOU, YOU KNOW, 18 BUCKS AN HOUR.
I CAN'T GET THEM TO WALK IN THE DOOR. YEAH.
IT'S GOING TO BE A SKILLED TRADE THEY'RE GOING TO LEARN.
BUT AS FAR AS STARTING OUT A LITTLE BIT HIGHER.
BUT IT'S A HARD MARKET OUT THERE.
PEOPLE GOT USED TO THOSE FREE CHECKS TOO LONG.
WHAT HAPPENED? THEY GOT USED TO THE FREE MONEY AND THEY HADN'T GOT BACK WHERE THEY HAVE TO GO TO WORK. IT'S A GOOD STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
BIG STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
YOU GOT 47 JANITOR'S POSITIONS OPEN.
YOU GOT NINE, TEN BUS DRIVERS POSITION.
YOU HAVE TO GO AND GIVE THEM A RAISE AND HOPE THAT THAT'S ENOUGH TO BANDAGE THIS.
[00:45:04]
MR. KUNKEL. YES.YOU KNOW, IN MY PROFESSIONAL JOB, I TALK TO HR DIRECTORS ALL THE TIME AND I'M USED TO TALKING TO THEM ABOUT TRYING TO RETAIN THEIR MID-LEVEL, UPPER LEVEL PEOPLE.
I'VE NEVER HAD CONVERSATIONS LIKE I'VE HAD THE FIRST QUARTER THIS YEAR TALKING TO THESE HR FOLKS ABOUT KEEPING THE LOWEST LEVEL EMPLOYEES THEY HAVE PEOPLE MAKING 25 TO $30,000 AS A BANK TELLER OR SOMETHING, AND WE'VE GOT TO KEEP THEM.
WE CAN'T. WHAT CAN WE DO? YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO DO THIS.
I'M LIKE, RICHARD, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT SIGN THAT SAYS YOU KNOW DRIVERS. I HATE TO SEE THAT SIGN.
SO WE NEED TO SUPPORT THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES.
I DON'T THINK I'M GOING TO SAY ANYTHING NEW COMPARED TO WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID.
WE LEARNED A FEW MONTHS BACK WHEN WE HAD TO CLOSE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS THAT THIS IS DEFINITELY A PINCH POINT FOR US.
WE HAD TO CLOSE SCHOOLS DOWN BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH LUNCH PEOPLE, BUS DRIVERS, SUBSTITUTES, CUSTODIANS.
MY ONE QUESTION WOULD BE, IS THIS ENOUGH? YOU SAID YOU THINK 15 MAY BE ENOUGH, BUT WILL IT BE ENOUGH? I MEAN, OTHER DISTRICTS ARE FEELING THE SAME PINCH.
WE [INAUDIBLE] THEY GOING TO INCREASE AND IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE COMPETITIVE.
IT'S A START. SO I THINK WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE DISTRICT AS A WHOLE.
AND I MEAN, IF WE FIND OURSELVES IN A SITUATION NEXT YEAR WHERE WE'RE STRUGGLING AGAIN, WE MAY HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD AND DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO TRY TO GET THOSE POSITIONS HIRED. BUT WE HAVE SOME PRETTY GOOD RECRUITERS OVER IN OUR FACILITIES DEPARTMENT, AND I'VE GONE OVER THESE SCALES WITH THEM AND THEY'RE EXTREMELY EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES. SO ANYTHING TO ADD? WELL, I DON'T THINK IT'S ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT ANYONE SAID.
DEFINITELY. YOU KNOW, THESE FOLKS ARE BOOTS ON THE GROUND FOR US.
YOU KNOW, I TELL PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, YOU KNOW, THE BUS DRIVER IS THE FIRST PERSON THE KIDDOS IS PROBABLY GOING TO SEE IN THE DAY AND THE LAST PERSON THEY SEE WHEN THEY MIC] GO HOME. THOSE FOLKS ARE BEYOND VALUABLE MORE THAN WORDS CAN EVEN SAY AND WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO TO TAKE CARE OF THEM.
AND AS BRENDA SAID, THEIR FAMILIES, THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
I THINK YOU GOT GOOD DIRECTION ON THAT, RIGHT? YES, SIR, I DO. OKAY.
AND THEN I'M GOING TO LOOP THE OTHER WAY, JUST SO YOU GUYS KNOW, I'M GOING TO LET MATT FINISH THIS ONE. NEXT ONE IS TALKING ABOUT COMPENSATION COMMITTEE [INAUDIBLE] COMPENSATION CONSIDERATIONS.
THAT IS, FOR STAFF TO GET 1%, 2%, 3%.
OBVIOUSLY, YOU SEE THE FINANCIAL IMPACT MONEY WE DON'T HAVE ACTUALLY AS FAR AS ACTIVE MONEY THAT'S RIGHT HERE.
THIS WOULD BE DIPPING INTO RESERVES.
SO WHAT MR. DREES, I'LL START WITH YOU.
THIS ONE IS A LITTLE BIT HARDER TO SWALLOW.
HALF A MILLION FOR THE SALARY INCREASES WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
6 MILLION FOR A 3% IS QUITE A BIT.
ARE YOU CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN FIND THE MONEY AND STILL BALANCE THE BUDGET? FOR THIS YEAR, NO, AND I'VE GOT I'VE GOT A CHART LATER TO SHOW YOU WHAT A 3% PLUS INITIATIVES THAT WE'LL BE BRINGING NEXT TIME WILL LOOK LIKE ON THE BOTTOM LINE THAT.
BUT YEAH, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW.
YEAH, I DON'T, RICHARD, HAVE WE EVER HAD A TIME WHERE WE'VE EVER TYPICALLY THE BOARD HAS HAD A POLICY OF NEVER SPENDING RECURRING EXPENSES LIKE THIS OUT OF OUR RESERVES.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BASICALLY HAD A RULE AGAINST.
HAVE WE EVER VIOLATED THAT WHILE WE'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD? SO WE ALWAYS CARRY MONEY OVER ON PAPER, IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A DEFICIT, BUT IT FELT LIKE EITHER MIC]. IT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE.
AUSTIN NEEDS TO KNOW, THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE HOW WE'RE DOING THIS.
SO. IT'S A HARD PILL TO SWALLOW.
BUT I'M KIND OF I'M NOT SAYING.
I WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR. I'M NOT SAYING WE SHOULDN'T.
WE HAVE BEEN VERY FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE UP TO THIS POINT.
IT'S BECAUSE OF THAT. WE HAVE 32% OF OUR BUDGET IN SAVINGS THAT WE CAN DO THIS.
I'M ADVOCATING I WOULD ADVOCATE FOR THE 3%.
I KNOW TEACHERS ARE LEAVING THAT THEY'RE JUST NOT STAYING IN THE PROFESSION ANYMORE.
[00:50:03]
SO WE NEED TO KEEP TEACHERS.I GET THAT. A LOT OF IT IS OUR CULTURE.
WE WILL KEEP TEACHERS BECAUSE OF THAT, WHICH IS WHY HISTORICALLY WE'VE STAYED IN MIDDLE OF THE GROUND ON PAY.
WE HAVEN'T FOUGHT TO BE THE HIGHEST PAYING DISTRICT.
AND IF 3% IS WHAT IS NECESSARY TO STAY THERE, THEN WE NEED TO DO 3%.
JUST LET'S WORK TO TRY TO BUDGET THE.
BALANCE THE BUDGET, NOT BUDGET THE BALANCE.
BALANCE THE BUDGET AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
WE CAN'T DO IT FOREVER. THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LIKE AS WELL.
AND MR. DAVIS, I WAS KIND OF THE ONE THAT HIJACKED IT FROM YOU.
I DID WANT TO POINT OUT THAT I DON'T THINK IN A DECADE AND A HALF WE'VE EVER KIND OF VIOLATED THAT POLICY OF DIPPING INTO RESERVES FOR RECURRING EXPENSES.
BUT EXCLUDING THE FAST GROWTH DISTRICTS LIKE NORTHWEST, BECAUSE IT'S APPLES AND ORANGES WITH THOSE GUYS.
IT APPEARS THAT OTHERS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE IN THE SAME BOAT AS US.
THEY DON'T HAVE SOME MAGIC ELIXIR THAT WE DON'T.
YEAH IN MY CFO CALLS THAT'S WHAT I HEAR.
EVERYONE'S LIKE, I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING TO GET THE MONEY, BUT WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE TO DO A 3% RAISE.
I THINK EVERYONE'S STRUGGLING WITH ENROLLMENT, RIGHT? I HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO A COLLEAGUE OF MINE.
IT'S IN OUR AREA. BUT EVERYONE ELSE THAT I SPEAK WITH, THEY'RE HAVING THE EXACT SAME CONVERSATIONS.
AS YOU SAW ON THE CHART, THE GRAPH WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK IF NOT JUST BELOW BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK.
AND. YEAH, RIGHT THERE KATIE BACK TO THE RED TO THE GRAPH.
SO WE'RE THE RED DOTTED LINE, SO YOU CAN SEE WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE, IF NOT JUST BELOW AT TIMES. SO IT'S A FIGHT TO STAY IN THE MIDDLE, TO STAY ON THE AVERAGE.
I'VE HAD THE SAME CONVERSATIONS THAT KATIE HAS HAD WITH HER COUNTERPARTS.
IT SEEMS THAT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO TRY TO GIVE 3% ISD HAS ALREADY COMMITTED TO 4%.
SO WE KNOW THAT JUST TO REMAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK, THAT'S WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO STAY IN. ANYTHING ELSE, MR. DREES? NO, I'M IN FAVOR OF THREE IF THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
I'M IN FAVOR OF 3%, BECAUSE IF SOMEONE OFFERED ME 1%, THAT WOULD'VE BEEN LIKE A SLAP IN MY FACE. I COULDN'T SEE AN INCREASE IN MY PAYCHECK BY MERE DOLLARS.
I CAN APPRECIATE THE INCREASE.
SO I'M IN FAVOR OF 3%. MR. KUNKEL. YEAH.
WE'VE GOT PRECEDENTS ALL OVER THE PLACE IN LOOKING AT OUR NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS AND KNOWING WHAT PAY INCREASES THEY'RE LOOKING AT.
WE CAN'T DO ANY LESS THAN THAT.
MR. DILKS? YES, I'M IN FAVOR OF 3%.
AND SOMETHING I THINK THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT AS A FORMER EDUCATOR TO DO IS TO MAYBE REACH OUT TO OUR EDUCATORS.
AND I KNOW THIS SOUNDS RIDICULOUS, BUT AS PEOPLE WOULD COME TO ME TIME AND TIME AGAIN AND SAY, EXPLAIN HOW RETIREMENT WORKS, HOW DOES THIS, HOW DOES MY RETIREMENT? I KNOW TEACHERS HAVE A DECENT RETIREMENT, BUT WITH THE 3% THAT MAY GET, SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE THINKING ABOUT CASHING IT IN TO STAY WITH US IF THEY UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THAT OVER TIME.
AND THAT WILL HELP US HOPEFULLY RETAIN TEACHERS TOO.
A LOT OF TEACHERS DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM WORKS.
AND IF OUR TEACHERS UNDERSTAND THAT, IT MAY HELP IN THE LONG RUN.
EVEN WITH THE 3% WITH INFLATION THE WAY IT IS, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE LIKE AN EXTRA MONEY IN THE BANK.
I THINK MR. BASKERVILLE WANTS TO ADD SOMETHING.
ABSOLUTELY MR. DILKS AND YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE WHEN TEACHERS LOOK AT THEIR RETIREMENT, THEY WANT THE BEST OF FIVE.
SO IF YOU DON'T INCREASE, THEN YOU'RE REALLY NOT ENCOURAGING THE STAY IN TO KEEP THAT NUMBER GOING UP.
SO EVERY YEAR THAT YOU ARE BEST OF FIVE, WHEN YOU UP YOUR SIXTH YEAR, YOUR FIRST YEAR FALLS OFF. SO IF YOU LEVEL IT OFF, IT KIND OF TELLS THEM, OKAY, THIS IS GOOD AS IT GETS RIGHT NOW. SO EVERY TIME WE INCREASE, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
IT DOES ENTICE A TEACHER TO LIKE, OKAY, NOW MY 2.3 IS GOING TO BE BASED ON THIS NEW PAY RAISE THAN MY CURRENT IF WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING.
IF THEY UNDERSTAND HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS.
EXACTLY, EXACTLY. AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN PUT SOME LANGUAGE IN TO SAY THAT THIS REALLY TAKES YOUR NOW YOUR BEST YEAR IS THIS YEAR AND YOUR YEAR THAT'S FALLING OFF.
[00:55:04]
MAYBE THAT DIFFERENCE AND FROM YOUR FIRST YEAR TO YOUR SIXTH YEAR IS SIGNIFICANT.AND THE MORE YEARS YOU KEEP THAT.
YES. THE MORE YOU'RE GOING TO GET.
ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT.
STINSON WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST COMMUNICATION VEHICLE, DO YOU THINK, TO GET THAT WORD OUT TO STAFF? OH, I THINK THAT IMMEDIATELY, YOU KNOW IF YOU ALL MAKE THIS YOUR POINT AND YOU DO ADVOCATE IN THAT DIRECTION AND VOTE IN THAT DIRECTION AT THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED BOARD MEETING, THEN WE WOULD IMMEDIATELY, THROUGH MR. THOMAS' OFFICE, GET THAT WORD OUT.
AND BELIEVE ME, IT WOULD SPREAD VERY QUICKLY.
YEAH, NO, I'M AGREEING WITH THAT.
BUT PARTICULARLY ON THEIR IS THERE A WAY TO, AS MR. DILKS HAS POINTED OUT AS A FORMER EDUCATOR, THAT MANY ARE NOT, THEY JUST SEE IT AS A 3% RAISE. HOWEVER, THEY DON'T SEE THE LONG TERM EFFECT.
YEAH. SO AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE'RE REALLY WE ARE NOT IN THE HABIT OF COACHING PEOPLE REGARDING TRS, BUT WE CAN BRING IN EXPERTS AND PEOPLE TO DO THAT.
AND SO THAT WOULDN'T BE AN ISSUE.
OKAY. OR TRS COULD PROVIDE US INFORMATION TO SPREAD OUT.
YEAH. MR. THOMAS, WOULD YOU MIND WORKING WITH THEM TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING SHORT, SWEET AND UNDERSTANDABLE? THAT'D BE AWESOME.
WELL, MR. DAVIS. YOU KNOW FORT WORTH ANNOUNCED THE 4% AND THE REASON FOR IT IS IT'S FORT WORTH ISD. THEY ARE HAVING A HARD TIME RECRUITING ANY TEACHERS INTO KEEPING THEM.
WE'VE ABUT RIGHT UP NEXT TO THEM.
3% IS THE BARE MINIMUM THAT'S THE BARE MINIMUM.
GUESS WHAT? IT'S NOT GOING TO GO DOWN ANYTIME SOON.
IT'S BEEN CLIMBING, CLIMBING, CLIMBING.
I WISH THERE WAS A WAY THAT THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION CAN SEE WHAT THINGS WE'RE HAVING TO STRUGGLE WITH TO TRY TO GET EVEN HALF OF WHAT THE COST OF LIVING IS DOING.
IF WE HAD ANOTHER 2 MILLION, 1.9 MILLION DOLLARS.
I THINK WE'LL ALL JUMP ON THE 4%.
YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN FIND ANOTHER 1.9.
IT'S JUST NOT THERE. WE DON'T.
DON'T 12. HUNDRED STUDENTS IS HOW MUCH? WE HAD 300 MORE STUDENTS TO GET THAT EXTRA MONEY.
SAY, 320. BECAUSE HOW DO WE FIND THOSE 320 STUDENTS? IT'S HARD. IT'S NOT JUST THE COMPETITION WITH THE CHARTER SCHOOL.
I KNOW AND YOU DO TOO DOING HOME SCHOOL AND STUFF.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE JUST NOT IN THEY'RE NOT IN THE CHARTER IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
AND CHARTER SCHOOL IS CONSIDERED A PUBLIC SCHOOL.
BECAUSE THEY GET PUBLIC FUNDS TO RUN THEM.
SO. GO FIND US 320 MORE STUDENTS I'LL JUMP ON EVEN IF SOMETHING HAPPENED WITH OUR ENROLLMENT IT JUMPED TREMENDOUSLY.
I KNOW I WOULDN'T BE OPPOSED TO SAY, HEY, THE X LET'S GO BACK. LET'S GIVE ANOTHER 1%, ANOTHER HALF PERCENT.
BECAUSE EVERY POINT THAT WE DO, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO CATCH UP.
THEIR GROCERY BILL HADN'T GONE DOWN FROM THE REGULAR DAY.
PRICE OF EGGS. EGGS UP 10% SINCE THE FIRST OF THE YEAR.
THINK ABOUT THAT. I LIKE MY EGGS AND BACON AND NOT TURKEY BACON.
THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TURKEY BACON.
[LAUGHTER] MR. DAVIS IS RIGHT.
AND IT IS YOU KNOW, IT'S A TOUGH CONVERSATION GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, AND IT IS FOR EVERYONE. WE'RE NOT ALONE.
IF YOU'RE NOT A FAST GROWTH DISTRICT, IF YOU'RE NOT ADDING A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF STUDENTS EACH YEAR AND THERE AREN'T THAT MANY DISTRICTS THAT ARE DOING THAT, THEN YOU'RE HAVING THE EXACT SAME CONVERSATION AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MINIMUM PERCENTAGES JUST TO KEEP OUR HEAD ABOVE WATER TO STAY COMPETITIVE.
AND SO YOU KNOW HE'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
AND IT SIMPLY COMPOUNDS EACH YEAR.
AND SO UNTIL THERE'S LEGISLATIVE ACTION AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR THAT, I WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR BIRDVILLE AND FOR ALL TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICTS, AND WE ALL WILL.
IT'S OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES THAT ARE GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT.
AND I THINK THAT OUR VOICE NEEDS TO BE HEARD IN AUSTIN.
IT'S GETTING LOUDER, AND IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO TALK TO OUR LEGISLATORS AND TO ENCOURAGE THEM AND SHOW THEM THIS DATA.
WE'VE GOT TO GIVE THEM SOMETHING THAT'S UNDERSTANDABLE THAT THEY CAN TAKE BACK WITH THEM AND ADVOCATE FOR US.
AND THAT'S THE WAY THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO PULL OUT OF THIS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS LOST 150,000 STUDENTS.
APPROXIMATELY 150,000 STUDENTS FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS THIS YEAR DURING THE COURSE OF COVID.
[01:00:03]
AND LIKE RICHARD SAID, THEY'RE AT HOME, THEY'RE HOME SCHOOLED.THEY'RE IN AN ONLINE SCHOOL SUCH AS K 12.
SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE FOUND A NICHE OTHER THAN THE TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
AND IN ORDER TO GET THEM BACK, THE LEGISLATURE HAS TO TAKE ACTION.
AND IT GOES BACK TO A POINT CHRIS MADE I WANT TO BUILD UPON.
WE'RE FORTUNATE THAT WE'VE HAD I'LL CALL HER NAME OUT THE THIS BOARD PREVIOUSLY THAT WAS PROTECTIVE OF OUR FUND BALANCE BECAUSE THE RAINY DAY MAY COME. GUESS WHAT? IT CAME. WHEN COVID HIT, IT CAME.
IT CHANGED THE WHOLE PICTURE OF HOW WE FINANCE SCHOOLS, HOW WE PAY OUR PEOPLE, THE THINGS WE HAVE TO HAVE WITH TECHNOLOGY TO EDUCATE OUR KIDS.
IT CHANGED, BUT BECAUSE OF GOOD STEWARDS.
AND NOW I WAS PART OF THAT, RALPH WAS PART OF THAT, JOE WAS PART OF THAT FOR MANY YEARS IT WAS PROTECTED, YOU KNOW, AND WE'D USE IT WHEN THINGS WERE NECESSARY AND NEEDED.
BUT WE'RE IN A PRECARIOUS POSITION.
WE CAN'T KEEP GOING TO THAT WELL EVERY YEAR OR IT WILL DRY UP.
BUT BECAUSE OF DECISIONS BY PREVIOUS BOARDS OF BEING GOOD STEWARDS.
AND WE ARE TOO DON'T GET ME WRONG.
WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THOSE NICKELS AND DIMES.
BUT I'M THANKFUL THAT WE WERE FRUGAL WITH OUR DOLLARS IN PREVIOUS YEARS BECAUSE WE ARE AT THAT POSITION. THE RAINY DAY CAME.
THE BAD NEWS IS THE STATE OF TEXAS KEEPS BUILDING THEIR RAINY DAY FUND.
GO RESEARCH IN WHICH IT'S GROWN IN THE LAST THREE YEARS.
YOU'VE SEEN EDITORIALS AND LETTERS WRITTEN ALL KINDS OF HOW THEY OUGHT TO USE SOME OF THOSE FUNDS TO GET US OUT OF THIS DITCH.
THAT'S WHAT WE ARE. WE'RE IN THE DITCH AND NOBODY'S HELPING US PULL OUT.
AND THEIR RAINY DAY FUND KEEPS BUILDING UP.
WE JUST WANT YOU TO DECLARE A RAINY DAY, AUSTIN.
YOU KNOW. WELL IT'S NOT JUST RAINY DAY FUND.
JUDGE WHITLEY'S OP ED STATED THAT IN THE ENTIRE TIME HE'S BEEN AROUND, HE'S NEVER SEEN THE LEGISLATURE START WITH SUCH GREAT AMOUNT OF RESOURCES.
THAT'S JUST PAYING MORE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION THAN AUSTIN DOES.
WE ARE. WASN'T THERE A LEGISLATOR RECENTLY WHO SAID THAT THEY SHOULD START DIPPING INTO OUR RAINY DAY FUNDS? AND THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
NO, I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING BY BUILDING THEIR RAINY DAY FUNDS.
YEAH. AND BASICALLY ALLOWING US OR CAUSING US TO HAVE TO PULL FROM OURS.
TO OPERATE. THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING.
I MEAN, PRACTICALLY, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING.
MR. WOMBLE. WELL, I MEAN, YOU PROBABLY PRESUME WHERE I STAND.
I GUESS I HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN THIS.
SO IF YOU TOLD ME YOU WANTED TO GIVE TEACHERS A 10 OR 15% RAISE, I'D VOTE FOR IT YESTERDAY. OKAY.
IT DOES GIVE ME HEARTBURN. I WANT TO SEE YOUR CHARTS AT THE END BEFORE I COMMIT, BECAUSE I'M LIKE RICHARD WAS SAYING, IT DOES GIVE ME A LITTLE HEARTBURN TO DIP INTO THE FUND BALANCE THAT MAKES ME FEEL A LITTLE UNEASY.
MY WIFE WOULD PROBABLY PUNCH ME IN THE FACE IF SHE HEARD ME SAY THAT I CAN'T COMMIT TO ANYTHING UNTIL.
YOU ALLUDED TO THOSE CHARTS, AND I'D LIKE TO SEE THOSE BEFORE WE.
BUT IN GENERAL, I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE WHERE WE CAN.
I WOULD SAY ONE THING I WOULD ECHO IS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE CHANGED THE WAY THAT WE CALCULATE INFLATION. AFTER THE 1970S GAS SHORTAGE.
MANY ECONOMISTS PROJECT THAT WE'RE REALLY AT ABOUT 20% INFLATION RIGHT NOW, NOT 8.5.
AND THEN WE'VE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THAT PRICE OF GOODS AND WHATNOT.
AND SO THIS IS ACROSS THE MARKETPLACE.
I MEAN, IT'S NOT JUST TEACHERS.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE'S FEELING IT.
AND SO 3% TO ME IN THAT LINE SEEMS NOMINAL.
AND SO IT'S HARD. I THINK WE'RE IN A REALLY TOUGH SPOT BECAUSE I DO FEEL LIKE 3%, ALMOST NOMINAL. IT'S ALMOST LIKE THAT'S THE BARE MINIMUM WE SHOULD EVEN BE CONSIDERING.
AND THEN ON THE SAME TOKEN, I WANT TO SEE THESE CHARTS AND SEE WHAT IT DOES TO OUR FUND BALANCE. SO IT'S TOUGH.
THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON.
SO WHILE THERE WILL BE A PROPOSED DEFICIT WITH A 3% PAY INCREASE, THERE'S A LOT OF PIECES. YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR MONTHS FOR A SILVER BULLET.
IT WAKES ME UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND I HAVEN'T FOUND A SILVER BULLET.
[01:05:02]
YES, GOLD. I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT.BUT, YOU KNOW, MANY, MANY DISTRICTS IN THE STATE HAVE DONE VATRE'S SUCCESSFULLY.
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CONTINUE TO MANAGE OUR DISTRICT WITHIN WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO DO BY THE STATE. BUT CERTAINLY WE HAVE PLANS.
AND THOSE OF YOU THAT WERE ON THE BOARD WHEN THE ILT OPENED, WE DID SOME ACTIVE MARKETING AND IT PAID OFF. WE GOT KIDS, YOU KNOW, INTEREST INCOME.
CERTAINLY WE'LL BE DOING WHAT WE CAN UNDER THE LIMITED INVESTMENT POLICIES THAT WE HAVE.
THERE WILL BE SPRING SESSION AND I REALLY HAVE A HARD TIME BELIEVING THE LEGISLATURE WILL NOT DO ANYTHING AFTER FOUR YEARS OF NO INCREASES IN REVENUE.
KATIE, CAN I ASK YOU REAL QUICK? YES, SIR. THIS IS OUT OF MY IGNORANCE.
I VAGUELY REMEMBER THE TRAINING YOU PUT ME THROUGH.
THE EXTRA GOLDEN PENNIES, THOUGH, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, THOSE HAVE TO GO TO A VOTE? THAT'S CORRECT. IS THAT TECHNICALLY A TAX RAISE ON OUR TAX BASE? THAT'S CORRECT. AND BUT LET'S GO BACK HERE JUST SO THAT YOU GUYS REMEMBER THIS TOO.
SORRY. I'VE GOT A LOT OF ANIMATION IN THESE THINGS.
SORRY ABOUT THAT. THAT'S WHAT I WANT YOU TO SEE.
SO ON THE M&O RATE, WE'VE DROPPED OVER 11 AND ONE HALF CENTS.
SO IT IS VERY LIKELY OUR TAX RATE WILL COMPRESS AGAIN THIS YEAR AND MAYBE EVEN AGAIN NEXT YEAR. SO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY POSSIBLY LET'S SAY WE COMPRESS ONE YEAR, THREE PENNIES.
IF WE DO A VATRE THAT YEAR FOR THREE PENNIES, THEN TECHNICALLY WE HAVE NO TAX INCREASE.
OR IT COULD EVEN BE A TAX REDUCTION IF WE HAD TO COMPRESS BECAUSE I DON'T SEE VALUES GOING DOWN. RIGHT. SO I THINK THAT'S ONE THING I WANT YOU ALL TO REMEMBER.
AND I THINK MANSFIELD AND SEVERAL OF THE OTHER DISTRICTS THAT HAVE RECENTLY DONE THEIR VATRE'S HAVE SEEN THEIR RATES NOT BE AFFECTED AS MUCH BECAUSE OF THE TAX COMPRESSION.
THAT'S RIGHT. IT WOULD BE A TAX DECREASE.
DO WE IF WE WERE TO PUT A VATRE TO THE VOTE, WOULD WE HAVE PUT LANGUAGE IN THERE THAT IT IS AN INCREASE? SURE. WELL, ABSOLUTELY, BECAUSE IT WILL BE AN INCREASE ON OUR COMPRESSED TAX RATE.
NOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL THE LANGUAGE WOULD LOOK LIKE WITH THE CURRENT LAW.
SO IT GETS A LITTLE DICEY WHEN YOU'RE, YOU USED TO BE ABLE TO DO IT ON AN OFF DAY SO THE BOARD COULD CALL IT IN THE SUMMER AND HAVE IT SOMETIME IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER.
SO IT DOES MAKE THE TAX NOTICES THAT GO OUT A LITTLE CHALLENGING.
BUT AND ONE OTHER THING TO LET YOU KNOW, WHICH I THINK IS A POSITIVE, THERE'S A NEW LAW THAT SAYS BEFORE YOU HAVE ONE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN EFFICIENCY AUDIT, WHICH IS NOT A BAD IDEA. I WELCOME IT BECAUSE IF SOMEBODY CAN COME IN AND SHOW US HOW WE CAN CUT COSTS, THAT'S EVEN MORE GOOD INFORMATION.
IF THEY FIND SOME THINGS WE'LL IMPLEMENT.
IF THEY DON'T, THEN WE'VE GOT INFORMATION FOR OUR VOTERS TO SAY, WE'VE SQUEEZED DOWN TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO SOMETHING AND ASK THE VOTERS FOR HELP.
I DON'T KNOW THEY'RE BRAND NEW.
I SAID EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID, THAT THEY'RE BRAND NEW.
OH, THEY'RE BRAND NEW. YES, SIR.
NOW, IN THE YEAR AFTER A DISASTER, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ONE.
SO THAT'S WHY MANSFIELD DID THEIRS THIS YEAR.
BUT CERTAINLY IT'S NOT A BAD IDEA TO HAVE SOMEONE COME IN AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT'S INVOLVED IN IT, HONESTLY. I THINK THERE'S SOME STATE REQUIREMENTS THAT GO IN IT.
IF IT'S NOT THAT EXPENSIVE IT MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR US TO DO ANYWAY.
ABSOLUTELY. I JUST DON'T KNOW.
I THINK IT'S A GOOD STEP BECAUSE IF YOU CAN LOOK AT THE NUMBERS SLIDE IT'S $8 MILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT.
THREE PENNIES TAKES CARE OF THE 8 MILLION DOLLARS.
HERE'S THE POINT I WANT TO MAKE IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SALARIES AND CHANGING THEM.
STARTING TEACHERS MAKE 57, 58,000.
THAT'S GIVE IT A HYPOTHETICAL HERE.
I'M A COLLEGE GRADUATE, FIRST YEAR TEACHER.
MY HUSBAND'S A FIRST YEAR TEACHER.
HE GETS ANOTHER 2,000 DOLLAR STIPEND, WHATEVER IT MAY HAVE BEEN.
AND SO WE'RE MAKING ABOUT 115,000 120,000 A YEAR RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE.
NOW HOW MANY OF Y'ALL WISH YOU COULD HAVE MADE THAT RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE? THAT'S RIGHT. BUT THEY DON'T QUALIFY FOR A MEDIAN PRICE HOME IN TARRANT COUNTY ANYMORE.
THINK ABOUT THAT. IT'S OVER $300,000 DOLLARS FOR A STARTER HOME.
THINK ABOUT THAT. YEAH, I SAW SOMEBODY APARTMENT'S 14, 1500 DOLLARS A MONTH AND MORE.
BUT YOU'RE MAKING 120,000 A YEAR, ROUGHLY AS A YOUNG MARRIED COUPLE ON YOUR WAY RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE, MAYBE YOU HAVE MINIMAL COLLEGE DEBT.
THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE IN OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD.
THAT'S A TOUGH PILL TO SWALLOW.
[01:10:01]
WHENEVER WE ARE WORRYING ABOUT HOW MUCH CAN WE PAY THEM, CAN WE GET IT OVERCOME THAT? I THINK THAT THE VATRE IS CLOSER THAN WE THINK OF THAT HAPPENING.I THINK IT'S PROBABLY NO MORE THAN TWO YEARS AWAY UNLESS THERE'S A MAJOR SHIFT IN AUSTIN IN THE SPRING OF 23.
AND A NEW BOND PROGRAM COULD ALSO DO THE LAST BULLET.
THERE COULD BE SOME OPPORTUNITIES THERE AS WELL.
CERTAINLY WE WANT TO GET THESE NUMBERS LOWER COSTS AND BE MORE EFFICIENT.
THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT EFFICIENCY AUDIT WOULD PULL OUT TO JUST THE CHALLENGES OF SMALLER SCHOOLS. I WAS GOING TO ASK THAT.
SO SAY THAT WHATEVER BOND COMES FORWARD AND WE DO COMBINE SCHOOLS, YOU'RE SAVING THAT OVERHEAD, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
RIGHT. BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WHEN YOU LOOK AT AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND GO TO THE CHART, IS EVERYBODY READY TO GO TO THE CHARTS? SO THE FIRST THING I WANT TO SHOW YOU, APOLOGIZE.
I GOT TO GET THROUGH ALL THESE SLIDES.
SO THIS WAS ANOTHER PIECE THAT I NEEDED TO LET YOU KNOW.
SO AS WE SAW IN THAT LAST SLIDE, AFTER THE CUTS THAT WE'VE MADE, WE'RE STARTING WITH AROUND JUST UNDER $1.1 MILLION DOLLARS.
SO WE WILL HAVE SOME RECURRING BUDGET INITIATIVES TO BRING TO YOU.
WE ARE GOING TO AND THOSE ARE IN YOUR BOOK THAT WE'LL GO OVER AT THE NEXT MEETING.
WE HAVE INCREASES, UNFORTUNATELY, SOME PRETTY LARGE ONES IN OUR PROPERTY INSURANCE, LIABILITY AND AUTO.
WE HAVE NOT BEEN IMMUNE TO THOSE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
THERE'S SOME SRO INCREASES AND A FEW OTHER ITEMS THAT WE WILL HAVE.
AND THEN THESE WERE THE PROPOSED PAY SCALE ADJUSTMENTS.
SO THIS IS A SLIDE AND IF YOU LOOK HERE IN THE MIDDLE, SO THIS INCLUDES THE PROPOSED RECURRING INITIATIVES AND THEN THIS IS THE SALARY ADJUSTMENTS PLUS THE 3% RAISE.
SO IT WOULD PUT OUR DEFICIT THIS YEAR AT JUST UNDER $6.7 MILLION DOLLARS.
NOW, AS YOU CAN SEE, AS WE GO OUT AND WE LOSE THE ESSER.
YOU KNOW, IT'S DOESN'T LOOK VERY GOOD, BUT THIS NEXT YEAR, THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF WORK THAT HAS TO GO ON IN THE DISTRICT AND WE'LL BE STARTING IN THE FALL ONCE WE SEE WHAT ENROLLMENT IS AND WE'LL BE STARTING TO WORK, THROUGH THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
AS MY HUSBAND ALWAYS SAYS, WHAT DOES THIS MAKE POSSIBLE? SO IT ACTUALLY GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY REALLY TO REALLY LOOK DEEPLY AT WHAT PROGRAMS MAYBE DON'T HAVE AS MUCH ENROLLMENT.
I MEAN, THERE'S JUST A PLETHORA OF THINGS THAT WE CAN DO AS A DISTRICT AS WE START MOVING FORWARD TO TRY TO RIGHT THE SHIP.
I DO NOT LIKE A DEFICIT BUDGET, AND YOU GUYS KNOW THAT.
THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE WORKED WITH ME A REALLY LONG TIME, BUT I DO REALIZE THE SITUATION WE'RE IN. WE HAVE HAD REALLY A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY WITH THIS FUND BALANCE.
IT'S GOTTEN HIGHER THAN FOR MANY YEARS.
IT WAS IN THE FIFTIES, 50,000, WHICH WAS RIGHT.
ALONG IT WAS THE HIGH 27 IF YOU REMEMBER THOSE OF YOU WHO'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD, THE GOAL IN OUR GASB 54 FUND BALANCE POLICY IS 20%.
I USUALLY LIKE TO KEEP IT AT 25% OF EXPENDITURES, SO WE'RE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE.
1% IS ABOUT $2 MILLION DOLLARS.
SO YOU CAN SEE WE WOULD BE EATING OFF AROUND 3% WITH THIS.
AND I'M THANKFUL THAT WE HAVE IT.
AND WE HAVE TO REMEMBER, HOPEFULLY SEVEN TO 8 MILLION OF THAT WILL COME BACK IN.
IF THE BOND PASSES AND THE WISDOM CENTER IS PART OF THAT BOND, WE WILL DO RIGHT AFTER WE CLOSE ON THE WISDOM CENTER, WE'LL DO A REIMBURSEMENT RESOLUTION.
AND ONCE WE ISSUE BONDS IN JANUARY, THAT WILL BE ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I DO IS NEXT YEAR, MOVE THAT MONEY BACK IN.
AND THAT MAY GIVE US ANOTHER YEAR TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
BECAUSE AS I SAID BEFORE, YOU PROBABLY WOULD IMAGINE THOSE OF YOU THAT KNOW ME, I'VE SPENT HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS MANY TIMES AT NIGHT JUST MULLING OVER THIS, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S THE ANSWER? WHAT'S THE ANSWER. AND SO WE WE'VE MADE A GOOD START THIS YEAR IN MAKING CUTS.
OUR DEPARTMENTS AND CAMPUSES ALL MADE CUTS WHERE WE COULD.
AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARD GETTING BACK WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
BUT THANKFULLY, AS MR. DAVIS SO WELL PUT IT, WE HAVE FUND BALANCE FOR THAT RAINY DAY AND WE ARE IN A RAINY DAY RIGHT NOW. I'M HOPING THAT IF COVID CONTINUES TO WANE, THAT BY THE TIME WE GET TO THE FALL, PARENTS ARE FEELING SO COMFORTABLE.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT BEEN DOING OUR MARKETING THAT THOSE STUDENTS WILL COME BACK.
I KNOW. DR. OWNBY, DO YOU WANT TO SHARE WHAT YOU SHARED WITH ME TODAY ABOUT THE PRE-K ENROLLMENT WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW? SURE. A YEAR AGO TODAY, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT OUR PRE-K ENROLLMENT FOR THIS COMING YEAR, WE WERE AT 222 KIDS.
AND RIGHT NOW, AS OF TODAY, WE'RE AT 530 KIDS.
[01:15:02]
SO THAT'S A HUGE INCREASE.SO I WANT TO THANK MARK AND HIS TEAM AND ALL OF HIS HELP WITH THAT AND THEN DR.
CLARK'S TEAM TO HELP GET OUR PRE-K NUMBERS UP AND RUNNING.
SO AND WHAT THAT DOES IS WHEN THOSE KIDS COME FOR PRE-K, THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO STAY FOR KINDERGARTEN, WHICH IS ANOTHER BENEFIT OF THE TUITION BASE PRE-K, TO GET THOSE KIDS IN OUR SCHOOLS AND COMFORTABLE AND CONTINUING ON WITH OUR WONDERFUL PROGRAMS. JUST GO FIND 300 MORE KIDS, MARK HURRY UP.
I FIND THEM EVERY YEAR. COME ON.
AND WHAT TO ME, IT SAYS, IS THAT PARENTS ARE STARTING TO GET MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THE THOUGHT OF KIDS GOING TO SCHOOL. DO WE HAVE? THERE'S BEEN GOOD DISCUSSION.
DO WE HAVE ANY I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE AT THE LAST SLIDE, RIGHT.
WE'RE TO QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT.
THE LAST SLIDE ON TALKING ABOUT RECURRING, THEN I HAVE ONE MORE SLIDE TO DISCUSS WITH YOU GUYS. OKAY.
YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE? OKAY. SO ONE TIME INITIATIVE.
SO IN THE PAST FOR YOU NEW BOARD MEMBERS, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS AS ADDITIONAL FUNDS ARE LEFT OVER IN THE CURRENT BUDGET AND ALSO AS OTHER DOLLARS COME IN THAT WE WEREN'T ANTICIPATING, WE TYPICALLY BRING THE ONE TIME EXPENSES TO YOU AND WE WILL HAVE SOME MORE.
YOU'VE GOT SOME IN YOUR BOOK NOW, BUT WE'LL HAVE A FEW MORE OF THIS NEXT TIME.
SO I DID NOT HAVE TO USE MY ADVANCED COMPETITION TRAVEL THIS YEAR.
WE MAINLY HAD THE EXTRA BECAUSE ALL THREE BANDS WERE ELIGIBLE TO POSSIBLY GO TO STATE COMPETITION AND WE UNFORTUNATELY, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO MAKE THAT.
SO I HAVE THOSE DOLLARS THAT WERE UNSPENT.
IN OLD LAW, TAX VALUES DID MATTER.
WE USED TO ACTUALLY WHEN OUR VALUES WERE GROWING, WE WOULD HAVE KIND OF A YEAR LAG OF REVENUE. SO WE HAD A TAX VALUE CHANGE AT THE COMPTROLLER LEVEL FROM 18 19, IT WAS 2017 VALUES. SO WE GENERATED A $1.2 MILLION DOLLAR TEA PAYMENT, WHICH WAS GREAT.
WE ALSO, IF YOU REMEMBER, YOU MAY NOT REMEMBER WE FILED AN INSURANCE CLAIM LAST YEAR FOR THE WATER BREAKS DURING WINTER STORM URI AND WE FINALLY GOT AN INSURANCE PAYMENT IN DECEMBER. SO WE HAVE THE 529,000, WHICH IS LESS OUR 100,000 DEDUCTIBLE.
WE ALSO, A YEAR AGO HAD BEEN DENIED A FEMA PAYMENT FROM FOR COVID EXPENDITURES.
THEY CALLED ME IN DECEMBER BECAUSE I GUESS THEY HAD MONEY ON THEIR HANDS AND SAID, PLEASE REFILE, WE'LL PAY YOUR CLAIM.
123,000 AND THEN TEA RECENTLY ALLOWED US TO APPLY FOR A GRANT TO PAY FOR THE $100,000 DEDUCTIBLE ON THOSE URI PAYMENTS.
I HAVE NOT GOTTEN THAT MONEY, BUT WE HAVE FILED FOR THAT REIMBURSEMENT.
SO WE HAVE JUST UNDER $2.4 MILLION DOLLARS.
THERE MAY BE A FEW OTHER THINGS LATER AS WE FINISH UP THE YEAR, AS WE HAVE SALARIES FROM VACANT POSITIONS, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
IF THERE ARE SOME PROJECTS THE BOARD WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT WE COULD COME BACK TO YOU AT A LATER TIME. SO THERE ARE PROPOSED, REQUIRED AND PROPOSED CRITICAL, AND YOU'LL HAVE THOSE IN YOUR NOTEBOOK THAT WE'LL GO OVER AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING.
SO RIGHT NOW WITH THOSE DOLLARS, WE STILL HAVE ABOUT A LITTLE UNDER HALF A MILLION DOLLARS OF PROJECTS THAT WE COULD APPLY TO THOSE.
AND WE'RE STILL WE HAVE QUITE A FEW LEFT.
WE'RE STILL SORTING THROUGH THOSE THAT WE'LL BRING TO YOU NEXT TIME.
BOARD ANY QUESTIONS? SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE GOT THE CONSENSUS ON THOSE TWO ITEMS. SO I THINK THAT THE BOARD IS WHO KNOWS HOW EVERYBODY WILL VOTE AT THE TIME, BUT I THINK THAT YOU HAVE OUR CONSENSUS AND PERMISSION TO PUT THOSE ON THE NEXT.
WHAT ARE YOU PASSING OUT? HIRING CHART. OKAY.
OUR PAY SCALE ONLY WENT TO 30 YEARS.
AND SO AND I WANTED YOU TO SEE SO I HAVE ADDRESSED THE HIGHER YEARS PARTS OF THE SCALE.
AND WHILE OUR 3% RAISE FOR TEACHERS IS 1,875 DOLLARS THERE ARE SOME PAY GRADES WHERE WE WERE LOW AND I NEEDED TO MAKE SOME.
OH YOU GOT THAT ONE. THIS IS JUST SHOWING YOU THE DIFFERENCES.
THERE YOU GO. SO YOU CAN KIND OF SEE BY EACH STEP YOU KNOW WE DON'T PAY STEPS.
BUT THE TEACHERS, WHAT WE DO IS WE TAKE THE PRIOR YEARS STEP, WE INCREMENT IT UP ONE AND THEN WE ADD THE RAISE IN.
SO THERE WILL BE SOME ADDITIONAL ADJUSTMENTS AND ESPECIALLY AT SOME OF THOSE HIGHER LEVELS. SO OUR MORE EXPERIENCED TEACHERS WHO'VE JUST BEEN GETTING THE RAISE FOR A WHILE, I'VE MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS AND YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THOSE LARGER AMOUNTS WHEN WE GET TO
[01:20:03]
YOUR 24 ON.SO YOUR SUGGESTION AT THE BOARD MEETING WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLICATED THAN JUST 3% RAISE.
IT WOULD BE ACTUALLY. THERE ARE SOME TEACHER ADJUSTMENTS.
YES, SIR. BUT IF I NEED TO PULL THOSE OUT AND LET YOU, WE CAN DO JUST 1875 FOR THE WHOLE.
OKAY. YES, SIR. YOU'RE ON FIRE TONIGHT.
NO. SO IF YOU WOULD PROBABLY BRING THIS TO US AND SAY THIS IS WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATION IS, AND THEN WE COULD DECIDE THAT.
YES, SIR. OKAY. IT WOULDN'T BE A MOTION TO SAY JUST 3% AT MIDPOINT.
SO WE'D HAVE ALL THE PIECES IN ONE.
COMPENSATION PLAN. WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO DO ALL OF THEM ON ONE AGENDA ITEM? THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT, THE ADJUSTMENTS PLUS THE RAISES? YEP. OR WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO SEPARATE THOSE OUT? IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE GETTING SOUNDS LIKE ONE. I WILL LIST ALL THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT TONIGHT.
I WILL DO THAT. AND WE'LL HAVE THE TEACHER PAY SCALE THERE FOR YOU GUYS TO APPROVE.
MOTION WOULD JUST BASICALLY BE TO ADOPT THE COMPENSATION PLAN THAT INCLUDES A MINIMUM OF 3% RAISE FOR ALL STAFF AT MIDPOINT.
AND THE NUMBERS YOU GAVE US, THE 5.8 MILLION FOR THE 3% INCLUDES INCLUDES THIS. OKAY. AND THAT HELPED.
I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO BACK THROUGH THE CHART, BUT THAT.
THAT HELPS ON THAT VERY END OF THOSE CHARTS.
RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE, NOT BELOW, EXCEPT FOR.
WELL WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO SHOW THAT AT THE BOARD MEETING? NO I DON'T. OH, AT THE BOARD MEETING? THAT CHART THAT SHOWS WHERE WE ARE. AT THE BOARD MEETING THAT'S FINE.
I THOUGHT I HAD IT IN THE PRESENTATION.
AND THEN. BUT AT THE END WE WERE TRAILING.
AND SO. SO THIS THIS WILL HELP WHERE WE'RE KIND OF.
YEAH. ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE BOARD.
AND I THOUGHT WE WERE ACTUALLY FURTHER BEHIND THAN WE ARE.
SO I KNOW WE HAD FALLEN BEHIND WHEN WE DIDN'T GIVE THE RAISE ONE YEAR.
BUT I THINK WE CAUGHT BACK UP.
WELL. AND I'M GOING TO GIVE SOME CREDIT TO MR. DILKS. WHEN HE CAME ON THE BOARD, HE DID POINT OUT THAT ANOMALY IN OUR PAY SCALE AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT EVERY YEAR.
IT LOOKS LIKE WITH THIS WE'LL BE ABOUT THERE WHERE WE'RE.
MR. [INAUDIBLE]. ON THE PROPOSED SCALE, YOU'VE GOT SOME 0.01S AND 0.99S.
CAN YOU JUST ROUND ALL THOSE? OH, MY GOSH. THAT'S THE SCALE IS THE OTHER ONE.
THIS IS JUST MY SPREADSHEET OKAY? THIS IS WHAT IT IS.
I HAD THEM JUST TO MAKE HIS LIFE MISERABLE.
WELL, HE LIKES TO DO MATH IN HIS HEAD.
I KNOW. I HAVE TO HAVE A CALCULATOR, SO.
IS EVERYBODY OKAY WITH THEM BRINGING THAT? I MEAN, YOU'RE NOT HAVING TO TELL US HOW YOU'RE GOING TO VOTE, BUT YOU'RE OKAY WITH BRINGING THIS FORWARD. YES.
YES. OKAY. AND I WOULDN'T BRING ANY ALTERNATIVES.
IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO MAKE A MOTION, THAT'S A VARIATION FROM THIS, THEY CAN.
OK. BUT OTHERWISE, WOULD YOU LIKE ANY PRESENTATION AT THE BOARD MEETING RELATED TO THAT ACTION ITEM? DO YOU WANT ME TO SHOW ANY INFORMATION.
TO THE EXTENT THAT IT NEEDS TO THE EXTENT THAT IT WILL, THIS IS JOE, AND I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR THE OTHERS TO THE EXTENT IT WOULD EDUCATE OUR STAFF ON WHAT'S GOING ON.
TO EDUCATE US FURTHER, I DON'T THINK WE NEED THAT.
BUT WHATEVER YOU NEED TO SAY PUBLICLY TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT, HEY, WE'RE IN THE GAME, WE'RE COMPETITIVE WE ARE TRYING TO RECOMMENDATION IS.
THAT SOUNDS GOOD. ANYBODY DISAGREE OR? SOUNDS GOOD I AGREE.
I THINK IT GETS A MESSAGE TO THE BUS DRIVER.
IT GETS THE MESSAGE TO THE CUSTODIAN BUT I THINK THE MESSAGE TO BE BOLDLY PUT IT OUT THERE.
THAT'S GOOD. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS TONIGHT? OUR NEXT ABOUT S POSSIBLE MAY DATE? YES, SIR. IS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A MAY DATE TO GO OVER THE INITIATIVES.
I'VE GOT MY CALENDARS IN FRONT OF ME.
MISS BRENDA, DO YOU MIND COMING IN? THIS IS. THIS IS WHAT YOU DO BEST.
YEAH. CAN WE. CAN WE DO THAT? WOULD YOU PREFER THAT BRENDA.
SO THE WEEK OF MAY 16TH IS A LOT BETTER FOR ME THAN THE PRIOR WEEK.
MAYBE WE CAN COMBINE THOSE MEETINGS.
DOES EVERYBODY LIKE TUESDAY'S.
HOLD THAT FOR A SECOND. DOES EVERYBODY LIKE TUESDAY'S? STAFF, DOES THAT CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR YOU GUYS? TUESDAY MAY 17TH IS ONE CHOICE.
YEAH. SO, BRENDA, ARE YOU LISTENING TO THAT? AND THEN WHAT? COMBINING WHAT MEETINGS, RALPH, I'M SORRY.
THAT'S JUST TEN DAYS AFTERWARDS.
OH, YOU'RE RIGHT. IT'S ON THE SEVENTH, SO.
THIS IS FINE. I WOULD RATHER NOT MAY 17TH.
[01:25:01]
I'M MISSING ONE DAUGHTER'S CONCERT TONIGHT.I'D RATHER NOT MISS ANOTHER ONE ON THE 17TH.
MONDAY, THE 16TH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, IF EVERYBODY ELSE IS GOING ON THE 17TH, WE CAN DO IT.
ON THE PLANNING COMMITTEE ON THE 16TH OF MAY.
YOU'RE RIGHT. HOW MUCH LONGER IS THAT THAT SHOULD BE THE LAST ONE. THAT SHOULD BE THE LAST ONE.
AGAIN, IF I'M THE ONLY HOLDOUT ON THE 17TH I WILL BE HERE.
WHAT ABOUT THURSDAY THE 19TH? THAT GOES BEYOND THE 11 DAYS AND WE CAN'T DO THAT.
WE'D HAVE TO HAVE ANOTHER CANVASS AND WE CAN DO THAT.
MAY 10TH. RALPH WON'T BE HERE.
WHAT ABOUT MAY 9? YEAH, WE WERE STUCK ON TUESDAYS.
MAY 9 WORKS?. MR. DREES? YEAH, I'M GOOD WITH MAY 9TH. MAY 9TH ABOUT THE SAME BAT TIME ABOUT 5:30.
YEAH. OKAY. CAN WE CANVASS ELECTION TWO DAYS AFTER THE ELECTION.
NO. OKAY. WELL WE CAN JUST HAVE ANOTHER MEETING FOR THAT.
AND THAT WE SOMETIMES JUST HAVE FOUR PEOPLE.
BUT JUST FOR KATIE'S PORTION AND NOT THE CANVAS.
AND THEN YOU CAN PICK ANOTHER TIME FOR THE CANVAS.
BUT LIKE I SAID, IF YOU CAN JUST FIND FOUR OF US.
I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER SEEN US PICK A NIGHT THAT QUICKLY BEFORE.
THANKS, GUYS. OH, I GOT TO READ MY STUFF.
I CAN'T JUST I CAN'T SAY I CAN'T SAY THANKS.
DO I HAVE A MOTION? DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED. DAVIS. I'LL SECOND AND DREES AND WE'RE ADJOURNED AT 7:49.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.