Education
BY HANNAH JOHNSON
Prosper ISD tax rate lowers for FY 2024 25 Prosper ISD taxpayers will see the lowest tax rate from the district since 2005. The district’s board of trustees unani- mously approved the tax rate of $1.2552 per $100 valuation for FY 2024-25 on Aug. 26. This is a $0.0023 decrease from last scal year’s rate of $1.2575. Sorting out details The tax rate is split into two pieces. The rst piece, called maintenance and operations, covers daily operational costs such as payroll. The M&O rate is $.7552 per $100 valuation. The second piece is interest and sinking which covers principal and interest on the district’s debt payments. The I&S rate is $0.50 per $100 valuation.
PISD adjusts high schoolers’ last day The district’s board of trustees approved adjusting the academic calendar Sept. 16. The context The last day of school for high school students will be a half day on Thursday, May 22, 2025. The calendar change will allow the district to nish graduations earlier in the Memorial Day weekend. In the original academic calendar, graduations were May 23-24. “We want to make sure those celebrations are honoring the hard work that our stu- dents have done for 13 years in order to get that high school diploma,” Superintendent Holly Ferguson said. “We felt like this was a good compromise.”
Prosper ISD o cials OK $15M budget shortfall Prosper ISD o cials have dedicated 81% of its general fund budget to its teachers and other employees. “Ultimately, what [the school board is] making a decision on is in the best interest of the students that we’re serving,” Superintendent Holly Ferguson said. The gist The district’s board of trustees unanimously approved the FY 2024-25 budget Aug. 26. Here is a quick breakdown of what is included in the total $493.23 million budget: • $362.71 million in the general fund • $13.47 million in the child nutrition fund • $117.05 million in the debt services fund The budget has a $15.45 million shortfall in the general fund as revenue does not meet the district’s
Prosper ISD FY 2024 25 general fund budget
Debt service: .4% Capital outlay: .9% Other operating expenses: 2.1% Supplies: 5.5% Services/utilities: 10% Salaries: 81.1%
Collin College welding student Wyatt Jordan practices using the campus’s current automated welding machinery.
SOURCE: PROSPER ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
COURTESY SARA CARPENTER COLLIN COLLEGE
Collin College grant funds new curriculum A grant from the National Science Foundation will allow Collin College to develop a robotic welding curriculum. A closer look The new curriculum will bene t not only Collin
expected expenses. The shortfall will be covered by the district’s fund balance, which is similar to a savings account. The district’s fund balance ideally grows $10 million-$20 million annually. Zooming in Prosper ISD has added about 565 sta positions since adopting the 2023-24 budget. This has added approximately $46 million in new expenses. The increase also includes a 3% raise for teachers, which the board approved April 15.
College students, but area-wide industries that need automated welding technicians as well as welding students across the country if the curric- ulum is widely adopted, according to a Sept. 12 press release. The three-year, $446,852 Advanced Techno- logical Education grant will also fund specialized faculty training and equipment purchases. “I believe the training that develops out of this grant will serve as a crucial resource for students and the community,” Collin College District President Neil Matkin said.
PROSPER 950 S Preston Rd (469) 535-5539 LITTLE ELM 27100 Hwy 380 (972) 347-9630
Powered by FlippingBook