With nearly two months before the 2012–13 budget goes into effect, Round Rock ISD appears to be safe from any major cuts, though the district's tax rate could rise to pre-2011–12 levels.
Randy Staats, RRISD executive director of business services, said department administrative budgets would likely be cut by a minimum of 3 percent, but that district growth—the district projects 1,130 additional students next year—and conservative planning have put RRISD's finances in "a good place."
"I think we all still have the mindset that we're in a pretty difficult place. We don't know what the [Texas education funding] lawsuits are going to bring to us. We have no idea what the Legislature's going to do when they come back in January 2013. So I think most people have still have that mindset of, 'Do I need this? Do I really need this?'" he said.
"And so I think that, in terms of districts our size, I think we're much better off," he added.
Though approval of the budget is not expected until June 21, a presentation to the board of trustees May 8 estimated next year's expenditures at slightly more than $337 million and a tax rate rising from $1.335 per $100 of valuation to $1.38.
The tax rate increase would be a return to 2010–11 levels after the school board voted last year to provide a one-time benefit to taxpayers due to $8.9 million in excess funds. Staats said he expects the rate to return to $1.38.
That means property valued at $200,000, if that value did not change from last year, would expect to pay about $90 more.
Tax rates are not set with the budget and will instead likely be voted on in September, Staats said.
Adjustments and additions
The budget also makes room for a 3 percent salary increase for teachers and staff—totaling about $6.7 million—as well as nearly $1.35 million in proposed additional support for Stony Point and Cedar Ridge high schools, both attempts to make up ground the district lost last year.
The salary increase, Staats said, was due in part to a lack of pay increases last year coupled with changes to the district's health insurance plan that increased employee costs, effectively cutting salaries across the district.
In essence, he said, this was an effort to "catch up" with employee wages.
Meanwhile, about $800,000 of the funds for Stony Point and Cedar Ridge would go to hire additional teachers, in part due to Cedar Ridge High School's Academically Unacceptable state rating last year.
"What the board wanted to do was recognize that fact by giving them some additional teachers to lower that student-teacher ratio," Staats said.
The two schools also have the highest percentages of economically disadvantaged students in the district by a wide margin. Cedar Ridge is 36.9 percent economically disadvantaged, while Stony Point sits at 36.8 percent. Round Rock High School is next at 25 percent, while Westwood is the lowest with 12.2 percent.
