On Sept. 5, Spring ISD’s board of trustees reviewed how the district’s finances and demographics compare to other districts as part of an audit for the voter-approval tax rate election that will be on ballots in November.

Major takeaways

On Aug. 13, SISD trustees called for a VATRE as the district faces an almost $12 million fiscal year 2024-25 budget shortfall, as previously reported by Community Impact. A VATRE would raise the district’s tax rate by $0.05 and bring in $20.1 million more in total funding annually, should it be approved by voters.

On Sept. 5, a representative for consulting firm Whitley Penn presented the results of SISD’s VATRE efficiency audit to trustees. The audit compared SISD’s budget information to eight peer districts—including Aldine and Alief ISDs—and the averages of school districts across the state.

According to the Whitley Penn presentation:

• $12,698 is received per SISD student in funding compared to the average per-student funding of eight peer districts—$12,909—and the state average—$12,823.
• $12,975 is spent per student by SISD compared to the average per-student expenditures of eight peer districts—$12,906—and the state average—$12,386.
• SISD’s maintenance and operations tax rates—which fund the district’s general fund budget, including payroll—were around $0.08 lower than the average M&O rate of peer districts in both 2023 and 2022, respectively.
• 80.5% of all SISD funds are spent on payroll, which is 0.9 percentage points higher than the average of eight peer districts and 2.7 percentage points higher than the state average.

Explained


On Aug. 13, SISD Chief Financial Officer Ann Westbrooks said if approved, the VATRE revenue will be used for:

• Reducing SISD’s almost $12 million FY 2024-25 budget shortfall to below $1 million
• 2% pay raises for all staff
• Additional pay equity adjustments for teachers with three to 24 years of experience

SISD’s budget will need to be adjusted if the tax rate election doesn’t pass, Westbrooks said June 11. If this happens, the new budget totals will be presented to trustees as part of a budget update in February. District leaders will also need to find another way to address the $12 million budget shortfall, Westbrooks said during an Aug. 30 community luncheon.