The Spring ISD board of trustees approved a $378 million budget for the 2015-16 school year—which includes pay increases for teachers, more bus routes and renovations for an alternative school—unanimously at a June 30 board meeting. The 2015-16 budget calls for teachers to receive an average raise of 6 percent while bus drivers will a 9 percent raise, according to district officials It also includes $900,000 to repurpose its current Support Services Center into its in-house Disciplinary Alternative Education Program. SISD employed a zero-based budget for the first time that forced departments to justify each expenditure. Departmental budgets previously had been compiled beginning with the funding received from the previous year’s budget, which allowed for a more flexible budget, SISD board President Rhonda Faust said. “It required folks to dig in and really look at the budget,” Faust said. “This budget proposal is a direct reflection of community input.” The budget increased by $17 million from $361 million last year after taxable property values across the district rose by $1.2 billion from last year, Westbrook said. The property tax rate of $1.51 per $100 of valuation will stay the same, she said. SISD’s budget includes $298 million in the general fund, $54 million for debt service and $25 million for child nutrition. Priorities within the budget include more prekindergarten investment, a districtwide literacy plan and an increase in technology spending. The approved budget includes $2.3 million in technology infrastructure spending. SISD board members said they hope this budget will set the foundation for Superintendent Rodney Watson’s tenure. “We’re considering this next year as a turnaround year,” SISD trustee Chris Bell said. For more information on the district and its budget, visit www.springisd.org