Major takeaways
At the meeting, Daniel Hebert from Crowe LLP presented MISD’s VATRE efficiency audit to trustees. The audit compared MISD’s budget information to eight peer districts—including College Station ISD, Tomball ISD, Grapevine ISD and Pearland ISD—and the averages of the state. The peer comparisons were based on the student population and tax rate.
According to Hebert’s’ presentation:
- $10,234 is received per MISD student in funding compared to the average per student of peer districts—$10,674—and the state average—$11,522.
- $10,332 is spent per MISD student in funding compared to the average per student of peer districts—$10,426—and the state average—$11,151.
- MISD’s expenses in transportation and instructional materials are higher than its peers and state.
- 23.1% is the teacher turnover rate for MISD compared to peer districts—21.7%—and the state average of 21.4%.
- “We're pulling in less revenue. We're spending it more wisely. If I could draw some conclusions here, and according to [Chief Academic Officer Brandon Garza's] report, we're doing quite well,” board President Gary Blizzard said.
- “The report says that we're paying slightly above the average for teachers, but I noticed a couple of these districts aren't mainly in metropolitan areas, and are really dealing with an entirely different marketplace,” Superintendent Jason Bullock said.
- “Our student makeup is different [from the] state average and even peer average in this group. You saw what our economic disadvantage numbers were versus our peer group. ... So in addition to the basic allotment being compressed, we don't receive a lot of those extra monies that a lot of districts do because of their student makeup,” Assistant Superintendent of Operations Erich Morris said.
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