He touched on State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test results, school safety and the district’s financial situation, which led to four properties being placed for sale to help bring in additional income.
“I hope the community understands what CISD is all about and the excellence that is there and the tradition,” said Ledbetter, a 1989 graduate from Carroll Senior High School. “I love that saying, ‘protect the tradition,’ because we have a tradition of excellence that goes well beyond the last few years; it goes back decades.”
Put in perspective
Ledbetter and CISD board President Cameron Bryan discussed the issues around the financial issues facing the district.
Ledbetter said the basic allotment per student has not changed since 2019 and CISD has the fourth-lowest per-pupil funding in the state.
The district also struggles with losing 30% of property tax revenue to the state’s recapture policy, Ledbetter added. Bryan said CISD sent $38 million last year back to the state in recapture payment, and he said the board has asked the governor, lieutenant governor and Texas Education Agency commissioner where that money is going and hasn't received a response. He said he believes there should be accountability on how that money is spent.
Bryan said that 60% of the money from local property taxes goes to the school district. In September, the board passed a 21-cent reduction per $100 assessed valuation on the operations portion of its budget—the largest cut in CISD history, Bryan said. He said by 2029, CISD will eliminate the debt service portion of the tax bill by paying off the debt.
The conditions
Ledbetter urged those in attendance to reach out to local state representatives to help fix the state funding formula.
“Don’t let them say they’ve given money back to public education by lowering recapture; it did nothing for us,” Ledbetter said. “Our basic allotment hasn’t changed, but yet our inflationary costs have gone up. Think about utilities costs; think about all the costs that have gone up 14%, 15%, 16% and we have not been compensated for it.”
Ledbetter said the district has only three ways to get more money: add more students, raise taxes or have the legislature fix the funding situation.
Bryan said that House Bill 1 will give the district an extra $30 per student this year and an additional $365 next year, but that isn’t enough to meet the increased costs CISD is facing.
“The pressure is on," Bryan said. "They need to hear from us. They need to hear from one of the top school districts in the state that we are really, really struggling in terms of school funding."
A closer look
The district provided multiple ways to help the current financial situation. One slide provided a QR code to donate to the Carroll Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps raise additional funding for CISD.
Other ways to support the district include being a substitute teacher, volunteering for the newly-created Carroll Business Academy, becoming part of a booster club, joining a parent-teacher organization at one of the campuses or advertising and sponsoring events. Officials noted that any funds raised from advertising and sponsorship are not subject to the recapture formula from the TEA and stays locally in the district.
Zooming in
Ledbetter noted STAAR test results are just a measuring stick the district can use to judge the success of the students. He said CISD looks at the "Masters" category, which as a whole scored 72% in reading and 63% in math this past school year.
He pointed out CISD student success goes beyond test scores, listing the following examples:
- 58,730 hours of student community service
- 39 national merit semifinalists
- 99% of graduating seniors attending college
- 6,724 college hours earned through AP/dual credit
- $34.7 million in scholarships to graduating students
“I think it is pretty clear that our model of tradition of excellence is in jeopardy,” Ledbetter said. “It truly is. We need everyone in this community to come together. I think everyone in this room benefits from the great things happening at CISD. We need our legislature to do something to provide those funds. We don’t want to look at tax increases. We made substantial cuts in administration. We’ve cut our campuses, unfortunately. It is at a point in time that is a critical time."
