This summary is in response to a recent Letter to the Editor (Jan. 26, 2011) that appeared in The Keller Citizen regarding Keller ISD's finances.
When Mark Youngs, KISD Deputy Superintendent for Finance and Intergovernmental Relations, stated a few years ago that the 2008-09 budget deficit was the last deficit budget the district would adopt, it was based on two facts.
First, the district had run a surplus the prior year in the same amount as the projected 2008-09 deficit, and so between the two years, the impact was neutral.
Second, the district administration and the Board of Trustees were committed to managing the district's business in a fiscally prudent manner, and as such, declared that future budgets would be balanced, that is to say, with no deficits.
However, Keller ISD's budgets have been continually impacted by the following:
- Flat Tax Rates
- Increasing Operating Costs
- Low Target Revenue
The last item bears explaining. When school finance was redesigned by the state legislature in 2006, Keller ISD was assigned a target revenue of $4,800 per student. That means that as our property values increase, our state funding decreases by the same amount. So we have the same amount of money per student each year. This amount is not adjusted for inflation.
Surrounding districts got much higher target revenues. For instance, Northwest ISD has a target revenue of $6,000 per student. If Keller ISD had Northwest's target revenue, we would have $40 million more annually to deal with our financial issues.
The District's finances are not in "a shambles" as mentioned in this Letter to the Editor.
Keller ISD has added $5.8 million to its fund balance and this figure now stands at $52 million. The amount represents 26 percent of annual expenditure which exceeds the recommended 20 percent.
Keller ISD has been awarded 5 stars from the Texas State Comptroller for educational attainment combined with financial efficiency. Only 43 districts in the state (out of 1,235) received this designation. We are in the top 3 percent of all school districts in the state.
Our annual audits are completed with no findings and the District received a "Superior" rating from the State of Texas for financial stewardship.
The District did give a modest raise to teachers for the year 2010-11, but that raise was mandated by the state, and was not the results of acquiescence to any employee groups as suggested in the Letter to the Editor, and no other employees received raises for the year.