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CISD looks for new ways to address deficit after tax increase measure fails
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
The 2-cent tax increase measure for Carroll ISD failed to pass during a special election Saturday.
Now what?
CISD officials are moving on to other ideas after residents voted down the increase for its Maintenance and Operations (M&O) budget by a vote of 59 percent to 41 percent (1,321 to 919).
Early voting numbers showed a stronger opposition to the increase, with 890 residents voting against the increase and 411 supporting it.
Read Ballew, president of the CISD Board of Trustees, said the tax increase was one of several options residents appeared to favor when the district began a process in 2009 to identify ways to close the financial deficit.
“This was just the next step on the list,” Ballew said. “A survey showed that our constituents supported a 2-cent increase as opposed to a 13-cent increase because all of the money would have stayed in the district if it was a 2-cent increase. We did as the community said, but they came back and said ‘no.’”
Had the measure passed, the increase would have resulted in an extra $1.1 million.
District officials say CISD’s budget deficit without the tax increase will be $3.9 million, whereas it would have been $2.8 million with the increase.
The reduction in state funding is blamed for the district’s deficit. CISD lost $3 million last year with the state’s reduced funding and $5 million this year.
“This would have helped, but in no way would this have been a cure-all,” Ballew said. “So now we just keep going down the path.”
Other ideas include adjusting the fiscal year, which Ballew said is a one-time opportunity.
“It doesn’t change the real dollars, it just changes when we spend those dollars,” Ballew said. “It makes an impact on the budget, but it doesn’t change the amount of spending or the money we collect. Others have done it, such as Arlington ISD. But it’s a tactic. It’s not a real solution.”
Another option is to alter the student-to-teacher ratio. That would reduce the number of positions within the district.
For CISD, that would mean going beyond the 22-1 ratio for kindergarten through fourth grade, which CISD has at times already done, prompting the district to request waivers from the state.
For fifth through 12th grade, CISD is sitting at a 26-1 ratio, though it can go higher without waivers since the state does not have a ratio mandate for those grade levels.
CISD has already cut staffing by use of attrition. But district officials say that can’t always be done.
“There will be a threshold where we can’t use attrition,” said CISD spokeswoman Julie Thannum, adding that it’s more difficult to reduce staff with attrition at the secondary level. “If we can get through on attrition, that’s great. But at some points, it depends on how many cuts you have to make.”
Selling surplus land in the district is another option. CISD’s administration building, located at 3051 Dove Road in Grapevine, could go on the market this spring as employees who office out of that location are expected to move to the former Carroll Middle School.
CISD also attempted to sell the Carroll Intermediate School property, located at 1101 N. Carroll Ave. But the bids were too low, so the board did not pursue that option. Thannum said it’s unclear if the district would attempt that again.
Changing student schedules is another option. That would move students away from the block scheduling and put them on a modified block scheduling format, which is less expensive since it requires less staff.
Thannum said, however, the district favors block scheduling since it makes it easier for students to earn the credits they need for the 4-by-4 requirements mandated by the state.
Restructuring district programs is an idea the district has already explored.
“That’s been an ongoing, work in progress for years,” Ballew said. “If there is a more efficient way of doing things, we’ll do it. But there may be more of an effort for that now because of our lack of funds.”
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