The current fiscal year is on a 12-month accounting period that runs from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31, said David Johnson, CISD assistant superintendent for financial services.
The first year of the change will result in a 10-month fiscal year, Johnson said. The next fiscal year will start on July 1, 2024, and run to June 30, 2025. Johnson said the change will mean a two-month surplus, at least temporarily, for the district.
The big picture
Johnson explained advantages and disadvantages for the change; one of the biggest positives, he said,is aligning the fiscal year and academic years on the same schedule. He said one of the disadvantages is having to start budget process sooner and doing the budget on estimated tax rolls instead of approved tax rolls. He said the tax rate would have to be adopted by June 30, but a special meeting could be called, if needed, in August 2024.
“I think to me, it's all about us serving campuses,” Johnson said. “Really the No. 1 reason for doing this is so we can serve our teachers and serve our campuses, so campuses will have funds available from the budget to order supplies starting July 1.”
A closer look
Trustee Andrew Yeager was in favor of the move to align CISD with the fiscal year calendars of nearby Keller ISD and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. He said in the past, he felt CISD was in a tough situation compared to the other districts when trying to recruit teachers and staff from the same talent pool and not knowing what the budget in August would look like.
“I feel like this is a great opportunity,” Yeager said.
