FINANCIAL CHALLENGES Since the start of the pandemic, Richardson ISD has faced challenges in balancing its budget, with the district facing a financial deficit of around $15 million in fiscal year 2022-23. CHARTING ENROLLMENT INFLATION AND STATE SPENDING
One of Richardson ISD’s main concerns as it tries to overcome a budget deficit is a decrease in enrollment. Demographers expect the district to have nearly 1,800 fewer students within its boundaries by the 2025-26 school year. Enrollment is a major factor in how much state revenue a district receives.
Since 2019, the state of Texas has not raised its per-student spending despite inflation, ranking 42nd among other states.
Basic allotment
Adjustment for inflation
X $6,160** per student Student body
District's cost per student
Enrolled students*
Decrease from 2019-20: 6% .
Projected decrease from 2022-23: 7% .
$10K $12K
10K 20K 50k 30K 40K
$2K $4K $6K $8K
Total funding for the district
0
0
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25 2025-26
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
SOURCES: DAVIS DEMOGRAPHICS, RICHARDSON ISD, U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR AND STATISTICS, STATE OF TEXAS/COMMUNITY IMPACT *NUMBERS ARE BASED ON STUDENTS ENROLLED WITHIN RICHARDSON ISD BOUNDARIES. **THIS AMOUNT INCREASES OR DECREASES DEPENDING ON ATTENDANCE FIGURES, SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS AND MANY OTHER FACTORS.
Recapture is when excess property tax revenue is collected and redistributed to other districts by the Texas Education Agency. Richardson ISD expects to send more than $4 million in recapture funds to the state this year.
UNDERSTANDING RECAPTURE FUNDING STRUCTURE
as it’s a major factor in the district’s state funding formula. According to a report by educational consulting firm Davis Demographics, enrollment within RISD’s boundaries has decreased by over 2,000 students since 2019. In the 2022-23 school year, RISD had 36,232 students enrolled within its boundaries. The report also stated in-boundary enrollment is expected to continue decreasing over the next decade, with the 2032-33 school year having a pro- jected enrollment of under 30,000. State officials set the operating tax rate annually that districts can col- lect based on a formula that includes the number of students attending school each day and assessments of property values within a district. In March, RISD trustees discussed creating an open-enrollment pro- gram that would increase enrollment of students outside the district. According to district officials, RISD has nearly 9,400 seats available at its elementary schools. At the basic state allotment, filling those seats would provide the district with almost $69 million in state revenue. “I think having a conversation about how public schools can trans- fer students between districts is important to have,” Popinski said. “We want to make sure that school districts are able to … have enough [students] and enough quality teach-
CONTINUED FROM 1
senior director of policy of Raise Your Hand Texas, an educational advo- cacy nonprofit. “Double-digit inflation ... has led to increased costs of operating school districts,” Popinski said. “We’ve also seen districts trying to raise teacher salaries to keep pace with inflation, leading to a loss in buying power.” This year, RISD trustees approved a salary increase for teachers and staff members to help with recruit- ment and retention that will cost more than $20 million if the district is fully staffed. The measure increased starting teacher salaries to $60,000, while returning teachers would receive a 5.75%-8% salary increase, depending on experience. No decision has been made on whether to use the district’s $170 mil- lion balance from the general fund to offset the budget deficit. A large factor in the 2022-23 budget deficit RISD is facing is a lack of state funding, Branum said. According to Raise Your Hand Texas officials, the per-student basic allotment of $6,160 provided by the state to school dis- tricts has not increased since 2019. Meanwhile, from June 2019 to February 2023, inflation in Texas increased 17%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As a result, the state’s Legislative Budget Board estimated in 2022 that school funding was at 2014 levels when adjusted for inflation. Adding enrollment Increasing enrollment is a top pri- ority for RISD’s FY 2023-24 budget
Combined revenue This basic allotment per student must be met by both district and TEA funding.
Excess local revenue When a district has more property tax revenue than it needs for funding, the TEA recaptures it.
Property tax revenue The TEA takes excess revenue and redistributes it to poorer districts.
TOTAL FUNDING NEEDED
TEA contribution
Property tax revenue
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
According to David Pate, RISD assistant superintendent of finance and support services, district offi- cials reduced expenses during FY 2022-23 by $1.2 million by elimi- nating 14 administrative positions and cutting staff for its English as a second language program. Pate said the district expects to see around $3.7 million in additional cost saving measures in FY 2023-24. To find more ways to save costs, RISD trustees plan to create a com- munity steering committee for input on the FY 2024-25 budget. The committee would begin meet- ing in July, and work to review programming options and district-op- erated services. Branum said the com- mittee is expected to present findings in late 2023. “We need to hear from our com- munity and from our staff on how we prioritize programs,” Branum said. One area where district officials are forced to spend is the state’s recapture allocation. Recapture redistributes
local excess property taxes from dis- tricts to those deemed “property poor” by the Texas Education Agency. According to the TEA’s Recapture Cost report, RISD is expected to send over $4 million from its collected prop- erty tax to the state for FY 2022-23. While RISD continues to send money to the state annually, it has also been pushing legislators to use an estimated $32 billion budget surplus to assist public education. According to RISD officials, legisla- tive discussions didn’t reflect the true rise of inflation to increase the basic allotment by at least $900 per student. “We had hoped that this was going to be a legislative session that was going to provide a little bit more [funding] relief,” Branum said. “Even with that in mind, we knew that it would not solve all of the financial challenges that we have.”
ers in place.” Cutting costs
To be financially flexible, the RISD board began seeking to cut costs in early 2023 while staying away from cutting programs that affect students.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
13
RICHARDSON EDITION • JUNE 2023
Powered by FlippingBook