The Lake Travis ISD board of trustees reviewed a proposed $113.4 million operating budget for the 2016-17 school year on July 19. The proposed budget, that contains a $2.05 million shortfall, will be voted on Aug. 16. Johnny Hill, LTISD’s assistant superintendent for business, financial and auxiliary services, gave the board a snapshot of the district’s underlying budget assumptions. He said the district expects to spend about $2.05 million more than is budgeted for the 2016-17 school year, which will require the board members to draw from the district’s fund balance, or savings account. Hill recommended keeping the tax rate at $1.4075 per $100 of property valuation, which will help pay off bonds from 2006, 2008 and 2012. “By aggressively paying down the district’s debt service requirements, Lake Travis Independent School District is able to save the citizens of the district interest and also build capacity for future bond programs,” Hill wrote in agenda documents. He said the tax rate will save the district an estimated $9.8 million in interest and help reduce about $15.7 million of the district’s outstanding bonds. The amount given to the state’s recapture system—which requires property-wealthy districts to redistribute some of their funds to property-poor districts— is expected to increase by $8.6 million to $41.5 million over the next school year, Hill said. Estimated revenues for the district are expected to increase by about $12 million, with additional funds coming from new students to the district, flow-through for recapture back to the states and state compensatory education, he said. About $100 million, or 91.5 percent, of the proposed revenues come from local taxes, Hill said. About 60 percent of expenditures for the 2016-17 school year are going toward instruction costs, he said. The board approved a 2 percent raise for all employees in June, amounting to $1 million in additional expenditures for the next school year. With an expected increase of 460 students, or 5 percent over the 2015-16 school year, the total LTISD enrollment for 2016-17 is estimated to be 9,665 students, he said. Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the correct current tax rate of $1.4075 per $100 of assessed valuation.