Kilgore ISD board OKs price range, decreased tax price | Schooling
KILGORE – Kilgore ISD has adopted its 2021-22 budget and lower tax rate.
CFO Revard Pfeffer said the Board of Trustees’ revenue declined last year mainly due to the impact of COVID-19, but the budget for next year looks similar to the previous one.
“The general fund income is $ 35,612,844, about $ 800,000 less than a year ago,” said Pfeffer.
The budget has three main components: the general fund, the food service fund, and the debt service fund known as Interest and Sink or I&S.
The general fund receives income at the federal, state and local levels.
Pfeffer noted that federal revenue had decreased slightly to a total of $ 320,000 earmarked for a school health and related services program for students with special needs who qualify for Medicaid funding.
Government revenue for 2021-2022 is calculated at $ 19.55 million based on last year’s attendance and enrollment.
“Hopefully at some point in the coming year we can report with a little more income for the budget, but at the moment we’re conservative,” said Pfeffer.
“My normal way of putting together a budget is using the final year and using normal numbers for student enrollment, attendance and all of those things to prepare the budget,” he said. “My hopes and prayers are that when we close this year we will start seeing all of our students and that the enrollments will go back to the level they were two years ago. We’re not seeing them at this point, but we’ll keep a close eye on them all year round. “
Local revenue in the budget is $ 15.744 million, about $ 830,000 less than last year and $ 2 million less than two years ago. Pfeffer said when the Halliburton oilfield services company closed its Kilgore site in 2020, it dealt a heavy blow to the district’s revenue.
“Most of that (decrease) comes from property tax,” he said. “Our certified values are $ 106 million less than a year ago, but we all know that most of it was made up of a single taxpayer when Halliburton left. Almost $ 80 million of that is a taxpayer. “
This district’s tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year is $ 1.22 per $ 100 valuation, down slightly from 2020 to 2021.
Salary increases for teachers and staff are included in the 2021-2022 budget.
“This year we have made significant changes to our compensation plan for our employees,” said Pfeffer.
“KISD teachers received a raise plus $ 400. Bus drivers received a incremental increase of $ 0.20 per hour. The cafeteria workers received a 6% increase from the mean to bring them to a minimum starting point of $ 10 an hour, ”he said. “All other employees in the district received 2.25% of the raise.”
The district also increased its contribution to employee health insurance to offset the cost increases in insurance tariffs.
In addition, special life skills staff and teachers received a $ 2,500 bonus, and paraprofessionals were upgraded from Level 3 to Level 4.
The district offers an advanced scholarship ranging from $ 750 to $ 1,000, depending on how teachers use these degrees in their classroom.
Teachers in STAAR and EOC-approved classes also receive an annual scholarship of $ 2,500.
The budget also includes $ 2.34 million in capital improvements, including $ 220,000 to continue the district’s school bus fleet purchase plan.
“We are adopting a balanced budget that will be very close to last year’s, and we will continue to monitor it as the year progresses. We’ll make sure we have enough money to make sure we’re covered, ”said Pfeffer.
Funds for the two proposals for bond measures for a new high school campus and renovations and repairs at Chandler Elementary and RE St. John Stadium are not included in the 2021-2022 budget.
These measures are on the November 2nd ballot paper.
The budget and tax rate were unanimously approved by the trustees.
