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CCISD hopes for change in Texas funding formula
By MARY ALYS CHERRY
The Texas school funding system is in need of repair, the way Clear Creek School District officials see it.
They made that abundantly clear a couple of weeks back when they held two community forums to air their complaints and explain the problems they were having trying to stay within their budget.
SECOND IN A SERIES
As the Legislature prepares to meet in January, they hope something will be done so they don’t have to ask the voters to raise taxes.
Superintendent Greg Smith didn’t mince his words. “If something isn’t done, we’re going to have a train wreck.”
State Rep. John Davis also is concerned.
“After attending the CCISD briefing at Clear Lake High School, I am very concerned with the financial situation facing our district.
“Hurricane Ike, rising insurance costs, fuel and food costs will be addressed this legislative session.
“I pledge my full support to work with Superintendent Greg Smith and CFO Paul McLarty to reach a successful resolution to our current financial troubles.”
Some of the most glaring problems with House Bill 1 to shore up state school finances are:
State funding per student is based on the value of our homes in 2006 and the system does not allow for any increase;
No accommodation was made for fast growth areas such as CCISD;
No additional funds are provided for the $6.5 million increase CCISD sustained this past year to cover rising costs of electricity, food, insurance and transportation.
All these issues were addressed by Smith, Chief Financial Officer Paul McLarty and Clear Creek School Board Trustee Robert Davee at the forum.
CCISD’s painful problems were brought into sharp focus when Davee explained how they soon would be opening three schools in the next two years.
For example, he said, if CCISD opens a new school with 1,200 students, which is about the size of an intermediate school, all the funds the state will provide is $5,365 per student (same as it set in 2006).
That means the district would receive only $6.4 million from the state.
While $6.4 million might not seem like small change, Davee explained that CCISD would have many other expenses opening a new school, including $7.4 million just to staff the new campus, leaving it in a million-dollar hole before the doors open.
The district will need more school buses, fuel for the buses, electricity to heat and air condition the building, cost of living adjustments for teachers and staff, educational programs, etc.
“So what are we going to do next year and the year after that?” Davee asked. CCISD quickly decided to defer many growth staffing needs to future years, McLarty noted, when officials saw the district budget being attacked on all sides by rising fuel, power and food prices in the past year. Not many options are left, he said, as 85 percent of the budget pays for personnel.
Davee said the Legislature needs to provide a stable funding source for public education — a source that can grow with the economy.
This would include providing a permanent fix for inflationary cost-driven:
Enrollment growth;
Teacher salaries;
Fuel, utilities, insurance, etc.
“This is a problem that has been rattling around for a number of years. It’s not just CCISD — it’s everybody. People need to understand this issue. The more we can educate ourselves, the quicker we can start addressing the problem.”
They made that abundantly clear a couple of weeks back when they held two community forums to air their complaints and explain the problems they were having trying to stay within their budget.
SECOND IN A SERIES
As the Legislature prepares to meet in January, they hope something will be done so they don’t have to ask the voters to raise taxes.
Superintendent Greg Smith didn’t mince his words. “If something isn’t done, we’re going to have a train wreck.”
State Rep. John Davis also is concerned.
“After attending the CCISD briefing at Clear Lake High School, I am very concerned with the financial situation facing our district.
“Hurricane Ike, rising insurance costs, fuel and food costs will be addressed this legislative session.
“I pledge my full support to work with Superintendent Greg Smith and CFO Paul McLarty to reach a successful resolution to our current financial troubles.”
Some of the most glaring problems with House Bill 1 to shore up state school finances are:
State funding per student is based on the value of our homes in 2006 and the system does not allow for any increase;
No accommodation was made for fast growth areas such as CCISD;
No additional funds are provided for the $6.5 million increase CCISD sustained this past year to cover rising costs of electricity, food, insurance and transportation.
All these issues were addressed by Smith, Chief Financial Officer Paul McLarty and Clear Creek School Board Trustee Robert Davee at the forum.
CCISD’s painful problems were brought into sharp focus when Davee explained how they soon would be opening three schools in the next two years.
For example, he said, if CCISD opens a new school with 1,200 students, which is about the size of an intermediate school, all the funds the state will provide is $5,365 per student (same as it set in 2006).
That means the district would receive only $6.4 million from the state.
While $6.4 million might not seem like small change, Davee explained that CCISD would have many other expenses opening a new school, including $7.4 million just to staff the new campus, leaving it in a million-dollar hole before the doors open.
The district will need more school buses, fuel for the buses, electricity to heat and air condition the building, cost of living adjustments for teachers and staff, educational programs, etc.
“So what are we going to do next year and the year after that?” Davee asked. CCISD quickly decided to defer many growth staffing needs to future years, McLarty noted, when officials saw the district budget being attacked on all sides by rising fuel, power and food prices in the past year. Not many options are left, he said, as 85 percent of the budget pays for personnel.
Davee said the Legislature needs to provide a stable funding source for public education — a source that can grow with the economy.
This would include providing a permanent fix for inflationary cost-driven:
Enrollment growth;
Teacher salaries;
Fuel, utilities, insurance, etc.
“This is a problem that has been rattling around for a number of years. It’s not just CCISD — it’s everybody. People need to understand this issue. The more we can educate ourselves, the quicker we can start addressing the problem.”
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