NewsGrapevine - Colleyville - Southlake

Carroll ISD considers additional fees, increased taxes to cover budget deficit

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Diane S. W. Lee

2 min read

Published March 6, 2012 at 12:00 a.m. CT

Photo by Diane S.W. Lee

The Carroll Independent School District board of trustees on Monday night discussed a number of options to help bring in extra money to the district as a way to balance a projected $5 million budget deficit. The move is an effort to offset public education funding cuts from the Texas Legislature.

Trustees discussed options such as the possibility of a bus ridership fee, extracurricular participation fee and a two-cent tax-ratification election—all decisions the board has tentatively planned to make by its scheduled May 7 meeting.

Carroll ISD currently spends about $2.1 million on transportation costs. There are about 4,390 registered bus riders in the school district. Students living within two miles of campus are charged a $215 fee a year to ride the school bus. Trustees are considering charging a fee for all bus riders.

Trustees anticipate a two-cent tax-ratification election could generate more than $1 million a year for the school district's budget. Though the district has the option to ask for a tax increase of as much as 13 cents, district leaders say the two-cent move would keep in line with the feedback they have received from taxpayers.

"Because we are a Robin Hood District, a property wealthy district, in the first two cents we'd get to keep 100 percent of it but on the next 11 cents about 65 percent of that goes back to the state in the form of recapture," Superintendent David Faltys said. "So in our surveys, we see about 83 percent of people support the two cents because it all stays here. But it is nearly exactly flip-flop when you talk about the next 11, because so much of it goes back to the state."

During its Feb. 6 meeting, trustees voted to approve reducing eight teaching staff positions for the 2012–2013 school year, one of the first options on a framework plan to balance the budget. The teaching positions to be left open through retirements, reassignments and resignations affect six campuses in the district.

"We currently have 5.5 open positions that we won't fill," Faltys said. "And our goal with the framework is to get to eight."

The board plans to consider other options from its framework plan at future meetings.

Board Vice President Sue Armstrong was absent from the meeting.