District staff reduced an initial projected shortfall by $2.7 million through reducing vacant positions and contracted services, said Pam Sanchez, assistant superintendent for business services.
Zooming out
In April, the district projected one of its largest budget shortfalls in recent years at $6.68 million. District officials and board members have expressed frustration over a lack of state funding as the basic allotment per student has not increased since 2019.
In an effort to reduce the shortfall, officials cut around $2 million in unfilled positions and $700,000 in contracted services, Sanchez said. The district’s proposed general operating budget now includes $166.6 million in expenditures and $162.6 million in revenues, resulting in a $4 million shortfall.
The district is also expected to adopt a debt service budget with a surplus of $1.47 million and a balanced food service budget of $6.7 million.
Zooming in
Nearly 81% of general operating fund expenditures are allocated for payroll, excluding recapture. In June, the district adopted its lowest pay raise for staff in over a decade at 1%, totaling $706,000, and raised the starting salary for new teachers from $56,000 to $57,000.
Around 87% of the district’s revenue will come from local property taxes. Although property values have increased by almost 6.5%, LTISD's tax rate is expected to decrease by $0.0221 due to compression from the state while the district's recapture payment will increase by $4.6 million, according to district information.
The district is projected to adopt a tax rate of $1.052 per $100 valuation for FY 2024-25, which would be its lowest tax rate in the last 10 years.
Also of note
LTISD's fund balance is forecast to increase by $5.3 million for FY 2025-26 after the board of trustees voted to change the fiscal year start date from Sept. 1 to July 1, according to district documents. The change will allow LTISD to receive a one-time payment of $10 million as it would receive 12 months of revenues for 10 months of expenditures, Sanchez said.
The new schedule will go into effect in July 2026 for FY 2026-27.
What’s next
The board of trustees will vote to adopt the district’s FY 2024-25 budget at an Aug. 21 meeting, Sanchez said.
