Tax ratification election could be in store for AISD

Trustee Robert Schneider pointed out there will be multiple issues on the November 2014 ballot. AISD staff advised the board that the June 2015 date was selected as a runoff election date and it is unlikely there will be a high number of issues on the ballot.

Schneider said while he thinks a TRE is needed, he is not optimistic that a TRE will meet all of the district's needs and pointed to previous experiences with bond elections.

"My reaction is that $32 million is great, but if you look at all the needs we have and then you start adding things that may be requested by the community we're not going to be left with a lot of money to move things forward."

Conley said if the district waits until 2015 to call for a TRE, it might have to evaluate staffing cuts and other "ugly" options in order to balance the budget. She advised the district maintain at least $190 million in its reserves, noting most other school districts in Texas with AAA bond ratings have substantially more than that in reserves.

Conley said the only ways the district can generate money under the state's funding formula are to increase the tax rate or to increase its Weighted Average Daily Attendance level per student. Through WADA, school districts in Texas receive additional funding for students with special educational needs in order to help recognize the additional costs of educating those students, according to AISD.

The deadline to call for a November 2014 TRE is Oct. 6, 2014.

AISD trustee Lori Moya said if the board does decide to call for a TRE, it must work to ensure community members understand that while property tax values are expected to increase 5.97 percent, the school district does not receive or see the benefit of those increased dollars.

During the 2013 fiscal year, the district implemented a one-time payment to staff equivalent to a 3 percent raise. For the 2014 budget, the board approved allocating money to maintain the raise for another year and add another 1.5 percent increase to be paid in two lump sums to regular staff. Conley said if the district uses reserves for another year, the 3 percent increase could likely be maintained, but not the 1.5 percent increase.

Board president Vincent Torres said the district should update its list of strategic priorities for 2014–15 to include budget planning.

Schneider said he thinks the board should focus on the budget.

"I totally agree that we need a multifaceted, balanced solution to the budget, and it has to be done starting now," Schneider said.