Georgetown ISD board of trustee members approved the district's more than $81 million general fund budget at the June 17 board meeting.
The budget included a 3 percent pay increase for all nonadministrative staff and a 2 percent increase for all administrative staff, higher than the proposed 1 percent increase for administrative staff. The increases are based on the midpoint salary for each group.
Board President Scott Alarcon said additional funding from the state influenced the board to offer the extra increase for administrators.
"There were so many different elements brought forth for public education financing so we started really conservatively," he said. "We felt like the additional percent would make us much more competitive."
Interim Chief Financial Officer Steve West said the district will be getting back about $1.3 million of the more than $7.2 million in funding cut by the state during the past biennium. However, additional revenue from local tax dollars raised through increased property values will actually decrease state funding from the previous year because of the state's equalization formula.
That formula essentially means that every dollar raised in local taxes results in a dollar less in state aid, West said.
For instance, in the 2012–13 budget, Georgetown raised about $59 million in local taxes and received nearly $15 million in state aid. West estimated that, with its projected taxable values increasing, the district could raise more than $62 million in taxes and receive about $13.3 million in state aid in 2013–14.
Without the additional funds from the Legislature, West estimated that the district would have gotten about $12 million in state aid for the 2013–14 budget.
He said the board will approve the district's tax rate at a later meeting after the county certifies the property values for the district.
The approved budget also included additional money to restart the district's drug testing program and purchase library books and resources, he said.
STAAR/TAKS results
Board members also heard results of the 2012–13 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, end of course exams and the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS, tests.
GISD Assessment Director Becky McCoy said this was the last year an entire grade will be given the TAKS test and said overall testing results were "pretty flat."
"[The district is] really kind of maintaining, and you will see that with the state overall," McCoy said, adding that GISD scores were higher than the state average.
Some district scores did decrease from the previous year's; however, McCoy attributed some of that to retests.
"How in the world can the state look at these numbers and defend the projected decreasing passing rate?" asked board of trustees member Mike Hewlett. "At some point don't you have to look at the testing mechanism—and not that we reduce the rigor of the test—but I'm sitting here shaking my head because this doesn't seem right."
McCoy said the district went through a similar experience when the state transitioned to the TAKS test.
"We had similar results reported to us that showed how we would perform [at the higher standards], and back then we were all shaking our heads saying, 'Wow, that just seems like a lot,'" she said. "I think it's a way to get us to really focus on what's important in terms of student expectations, the readiness standards versus the supporting standards and really examine the way we teach in helping our students to perform at higher levels. We did it with TAKS."
McCoy said the state is continuing to phase in passing standards. Based on the 2012–13 test scores, the number of students passing the STAAR test with 2016 passing standards decreased, she said.
Superintendent Joe Dan Lee said the district would continue to adjust.
"Our goal is to stay ahead of everybody else," Lee said. "As we got the state results, we were more pleased with what we've done in Georgetown."
He district officials hope to see scores continue to rise.
"We will adjust to the rigor of the test, and you will see improvement," he said.
Georgetown ISD 2012–13 STAAR grade 3–8 results
Grade 3
- GISD: 81% reading, 81% math
- Texas: 79% reading, 69% math
Grade 4
- GISD: 80% reading, 81% math, 72% writing
- Texas: 72% reading, 68% math, 71% writing
Grade 5 (students tested in April plus students in April cohort tested in May)
- GISD: 89% reading, 93% math, 77% science
- Texas: 87% reading, 87% math, 73 % science
Grade 6
- GISD: 76% reading, 78% math
- Texas: 71% reading, 74% math
Grade 7
- GISD: 80% reading, 78% math, 73% writing
- Texas: 77% reading, 71% math, 70% writing
Grade 8 (students tested in April plus students in April cohort tested in May)
- GISD: 94% reading, 87% math, 81% science
- Texas: 89% reading, 76% math, 75% science
Source: Georgetown ISD
Georgetown ISD 2012–13 TAKS results
Grade 11
- GISD: 97% English/language arts, 93% math, 97% science, 100% social studies
- Texas: 95% English/language arts, 89% math, 96% science, 99% social studies
Source: Georgetown ISD
