Pearland - Friendswood Edition | February 2023

PERSTUDENT FUNDING RATIO IN 202122

State funds

Federal funds

Local funds

UNDERSTANDING THE RATIO

Pearland ISD

Alvin ISD

Friendswood ISD

Local school districts are primarily funded on property tax income. Of the districts local to the Pearland and Friendswood areas, Alvin ISD receives the most state funding proportionally due to having a higher ratio of economically disadvantaged students NOTE: FIGURES USED TO CALCULATE TOTAL REVENUE PER STUDENT WERE FROM DISTRICTS’ ADOPTED 202122 BUDGETS. SOURCES: PEARLAND ISD, FRIENDSWOOD ISD, ALVIN ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

$13,820 TOTAL:

$11,168 TOTAL:

$11,310 TOTAL:

$5,973 $7,272 $575

$8,448 $2,602 $118

$5,792 $4,837 $681

Berger said the pre-K mandate is an example of some of the funding gaps in the school nancing system that led to budgetary concerns for Pearland ISD, including a projected $15 million de- cit for the scal year 2023-24 budget. He said the district’s drop in average daily attendance during the pandemic also contributed. Thompson also expressed interest in establishing a cost of living allow- ance for retired teachers, as well as a pathway for them to return to work without penalty. “There’s a lot of teachers that are leaving the eld; … we have a lot of people that don’t want to be teachers anymore,” Thompson said.

to the law in regards to tax calculation worksheets that cities depend on for determining property values. The city of Pearland received an incorrectly cal- culated worksheet last summer when developing the FY 2022-23 budget, leading to the city to adopt a lower tax rate and face a $10 million decit. The worksheet assessed property values in the areas of Pearland in Harris County. The city is working to try to receive a corrected worksheet from the Harris Central Appraisal Dis- trict to have accurate gures to work with for developing future budgets. “We want to make sure that not just us, but any city, county, whatever that comes after us, if there’s an error,

Berger echoed concerns for teacher retention, hoping to see adjustments to teacher compensation and benets from the legislative session. Tax reform Pearland Mayor Kevin Cole said school funding is directly tied to a problem of high property taxes in the state, saying the biggest property tax that residents pay is from school dis- tricts. He said the state’s surplus could be used to address the issue. “[As] you got teachers and others whose livelihood comes through those property taxes, what system are they going to set up in place?” he said. Cole also said he hopes for changes

there’s a very clear path on what you have to do,” Cole said. Middleton expressed a variety of concerns regarding taxes in the state, saying property taxes are “rising out of control,” calling it “rent to the govern- ment for your own home.” He said he seeks to limit the amount that property values increase to further limit taxes. “Property tax relief is a great way to let people keep their own money in their own pocket and help small businesses,” he said. “It gets people to move here.”

For more information, visit communityimpact.com .

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PEARLAND FRIENDSWOOD EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023