Trustees in Plano ISD adopted a budget deficit of $19.6 million for the 2021-22 school year during the board's June 22 meeting.

General fund revenue is projected to decrease by just over 1% from the 2020-21 budget to $666.5 million. However, expenditures of $497.4 million and a state recapture payment of $187.9 million are expected to lead to the $19.6 million decrease in the district’s balance of operating funds.

Recapture redistributes property tax dollars from property-wealthy districts to those deemed property-poor by the state. The district’s payment into the state’s recapture system for the 2021-22 school year is an $8.1 million increase over last year, according to Chief Financial Officer Randy McDowell.

The district’s 2020-21 school year budget included a $10.6 million deficit, though McDowell said he expects that budget to be balanced by the end of the fiscal year. He said adjustments will also be made to the 2021-22 budget as the year goes on.

“We’re optimistic that we’ll be able to bring that $19.6 million [deficit] down through ... federal [COVID-19 relief] funds,” McDowell said.

As part of the new budget, the board approved a $7 million expense to give all eligible district employees a 2% pay raise.

Assistant Superintendent Beth Brockman said that increase will bump the district’s starting teacher salary to $56,000 for those with a bachelor’s degree and $58,000 for those with a master’s degree.

Board president David Stolle said he would have liked to have been able to give district staff a larger raise.

“We are doing as much as we can afford to do,” Stolle said.

Staff is projecting revenue will total $27.8 million in the food and nutritional services fund and $163 million in the debt service fund.

As part of the district’s notice to discuss the budget and proposed tax rate, PISD posted that it plans to maintain its tax rate at $1.32275 per $100 of valuation, as it was for the current year. However, McDowell said the district’s tax rate may be lower than that posted rate.

“We won’t be setting these rates until September,” he said.

The district is slated to receive the preliminary certified appraisal values from the Collin County Appraisal District in late July, but the final certified numbers will not come until September, McDowell said.