Timmerman Elementary School is one of three new schools Pflugerville ISD has to staff for the 2017-18 school year.[/caption]
Pflugerville ISD staff will be taking a hard look at the budget over the next year to prevent future deficits.
The district faces challenges of an influx of 600 new students coming into the district over the next year and about $4.2 million in reduced funding from the state.
On Thursday, PfISD trustees approved the fiscal year 2017-18 budget at $212 million in general fund revenues, $8 million below $220.6 million in general fund expenditures. To cover that gap, the district will use $6 million in its fund balance—unspent money it has accrued over the years—as well as revenues from its extended day program and solar panels.
The district also had about a $4 million budget deficit in FY 2016-17, for which it also used $3 million in the fund balance to help cover it.
PfISD Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Adix said in his eight years with the district, PfISD did not have a budget deficit for the first six years.
“The revenue isn’t keeping track with the expense structure,” he said. “… If we don’t bring more revenue in, ultimately I come back next year and the year after will no new revenue [and] it simply becomes a bigger deficit budget.”
About 90 percent of the district’s expenditures go toward salaries, transportation costs and utilities. Earlier this year, trustees approved spending $6.1 million for new employees, mostly to staff three new schools: Timmerman and Mott Elementary schools and Weiss High School. Trustees also approved a 2.5 percent pay increase for both teachers and non-teachers.
Superintendent Doug Killian said staff will review the budget over the next year to find ways to adjust it so the district can continue to hire new employees and offer pay raises.
“We’re going to go through a process this year of finding out if we’re doing things because that’s the way we always did it or if there are things we need to change,” he said.
Timmerman Elementary School is one of three new schools Pflugerville ISD has to staff for the 2017-18 school year.[/caption]
Pflugerville ISD staff will be taking a hard look at the budget over the next year to prevent future deficits.
The district faces challenges of an influx of 600 new students coming into the district over the next year and about $4.2 million in reduced funding from the state.
On Thursday, PfISD trustees approved the fiscal year 2017-18 budget at $212 million in general fund revenues, $8 million below $220.6 million in general fund expenditures. To cover that gap, the district will use $6 million in its fund balance—unspent money it has accrued over the years—as well as revenues from its extended day program and solar panels.
The district also had about a $4 million budget deficit in FY 2016-17, for which it also used $3 million in the fund balance to help cover it.
PfISD Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Adix said in his eight years with the district, PfISD did not have a budget deficit for the first six years.
“The revenue isn’t keeping track with the expense structure,” he said. “… If we don’t bring more revenue in, ultimately I come back next year and the year after will no new revenue [and] it simply becomes a bigger deficit budget.”
About 90 percent of the district’s expenditures go toward salaries, transportation costs and utilities. Earlier this year, trustees approved spending $6.1 million for new employees, mostly to staff three new schools: Timmerman and Mott Elementary schools and Weiss High School. Trustees also approved a 2.5 percent pay increase for both teachers and non-teachers.
Superintendent Doug Killian said staff will review the budget over the next year to find ways to adjust it so the district can continue to hire new employees and offer pay raises.
“We’re going to go through a process this year of finding out if we’re doing things because that’s the way we always did it or if there are things we need to change,” he said.
