Trustees reviewed the compensation plan at a Nov. 4 workshop, which floated the possibility of a one-time payment and a 1% raise.
However, due to a murky financial future, the administration settled on a one-time payment which would not carry over into subsequent years. The board adopted a $4.5 million budget shortfall for the fiscal year 2024-25.
“We have never not given a raise since my time on the board,” trustee Katherine Sells said, who joined the school board in 2016.
The details
District officials drafted a compensation plan in May that would provide a 1% of the midpoint raise for all staff and/or a one-time $500 payment. The board delayed approval until it could better determine the district's budget shortfall for fiscal year 2023-24.
After the Nov. 4 workshop the administration decided to increase the one-time payment to $1,000 since a percentage raise would not be given. According to documents, a 1% raise would have equated to a $665 increase per staff member.
In total the $1,000 one-time payment is estimated to cost $6.7 million, per district documents.
Zooming in
Staff worked to balance the $14.9 million shortfall in the adopted budget for fiscal year 2023-24 through reductions in central office staff and land sales, according to district documents.
In August LISD officials projected to close fiscal year 2023-24 with a $3.3 million shortfall but by the November workshop staff reduced the amount to $441,000, according to previous Community Impact reporting. Additionally, the state refunded the district almost $3.5 million in recapture funds because the district collected $25 million less than the state anticipated in 2023.
LISD also sold a property along Sunset Trail for $4.3 million and found $1.5 million in the budget for capital outlay expenses that had already been paid, meaning it could move the $1.5 million into the fiscal year 2023-24 general fund.
These measures offset the budget shortfall with over $8.9 million remaining for the compensation increases. The remaining funds could be used to offset budget shortfalls and replenish fund balance.
The context
The state allots school districts $6,160 per student based on daily attendance, an amount that has not increased since 2019. LISD has experienced around 22% inflation since that time along with enrollment decline, expiring COVID-19 relief funds and underfunded mandates, according to district officials.
Statewide school funding would need to increase by around $1,400 per student to provide the district with the same buying power they had in 2019, according to documents from LISD.
Going forward
The payment will be dispersed to staff by no later than Dec. 31, according to district documents.
“This is the very least that we can do for our staff members that show up for us every single day despite all of the challenges they face,” trustee Staci Barker said.
