Tomball ISD officials are actively preparing for growth in the 2013–14 school year. Tomball ISD residents passed a bond election in May to fund the construction of four new schools among other improvements, and the district is also looking to hire 96 new staff members this year.
The state Legislature increased state funding for public school districts in the 2013 session by $3.7 billion during the next two years. Funding for Tomball ISD increased by about $1.6 million while Magnolia funding increased by $3 million. Although district officials say the money helps, it does not restore the cuts from the last biennium in which TISD and MISD experienced cuts of $12.5 million and $12 million respectively.
"Although lawmakers reinstated some of the funding cuts we experienced during recent years, we are still experiencing some funding challenges," TISD Superintendent Huey Kinchen said. "We remain focused on responsible fiscal management."
The 2013–14 Tomball ISD budget was adopted July 9 after multiple workshops and a public hearing. The Magnolia ISD school board spent the month of July workshopping its budget with plans to pass it after an Aug. 19 public hearing.
Magnolia officials say conservative budgeting in the past has left the district prepared for enrollment growth moving forward.
"You're not going to see a lot of different things in this budget from last year," MISD Superintendent Todd Stephens said. "The money coming from the legislature gives us a little bit of room to let a few of the teachers we had to cut back in and put money back in the classroom."
Tax rates
Even though Tomball and Magnolia ISDs are experiencing enrollment growth for another consecutive year, both districts are looking to keep tax rates the same in their 2013–14 budgets.
Taxpayers in Tomball will not experience an ISD tax rate increase despite the bond election that passed in May. Any tax rate increase tied to the bond will likely take place incrementally over the next several years, but how much of an actual increase will be required remains to be seen, Kinchen said.
Early planning suggested that a five-cent increase in the interest and sinking tax rate—which the district uses to make debt payments—would be necessary, but estimates have since been drawn back.
"Our goal is to always hold the tax rate as low as possible," Kinchen said. "Obviously with building four new schools there is potential for the rate to go up. We're pretty comfortable that our rate won't go up more than two or three cents."
The dollar amounts attached to the new schools and other projects are all estimates, and the tax rate increase will become more clear as the district gets a better idea of the actual costs, said Rick Pritchett, who headed the steering committee analyzing the bond.
"The school board has a history of spending less than estimated in previous bond elections," he said.
In Magnolia, the tax rate is also expected to stay the same, at $1.3995 per $100 of valuation.
"The restoration of funding from the state legislature should allow us to accommodate our enrollment growth while balancing the budget with our current tax rate," MISD's chief financial officer Erich Morris said.
District growth
The money being restored by the Legislature will work in part to help TISD hire 96 new positions. MISD is using the money to bring back some of the teachers who were cut from its elementary fine arts programs when the 2011 budget cuts were enacted.
Specifically, MISD is looking to hire four new elementary school art aides and four new music teachers, Morris said.
"The hirings are based on need," he said. "This will give us one music teacher at each elementary campus, instead of having one teacher working at multiple campuses. It also gives our art teachers some much needed help in their programs."
The TISD general fund budget totals $92.15 million, about a 7 percent increase from last year. Estimated revenue for 2013-14 is $91.15 million, which is roughly a 12 percent increase from last year.
The 7 percent increase in the general fund is meant to help the district deal with the nearly six percent increase in enrollment last year. Ross said enrollment will continue to grow.
"Next year, I was projecting a 5.2 percent increase [in enrollment], but our demographer says we might see another 6 percent increase," he said. "When you look at the rate of inflation and the growth of enrollment, a 7 percent increase [in the general fund] is actually pretty decent."
The general fund includes money to hire 96 new staff members district-wide. Most of the hiring will be for new teachers, Ross said. This district is looking to bring on about 62 new teachers, nine professionals and another 24 paraprofessionals.
Enrollment growth has been noted in Magnolia ISD as well, where another 1 percent increase is expected for the 2013–14 school year, which translates to about 120 students. The money from the legislature will help the district maintain the money it spends per student, while also remaining competitive with teacher salaries, Morris said.
