Mathis ISD Board of Trustees Approves 2009-2010 Budget and Tax Rate

9/10/2009

The Mathis ISD Board of School Trustees approved the 2009-2010 budget at the Monday, August 31 special called meeting. The district’s fiscal year budget begins September 1, 2009 and ends August 31, 2010; it includes salary increases for Mathis ISD faculty and staff. The combined general operation budget including food service and debt service is $16,097,453.

The Board approved the use of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) to finance the mandated salary increases in accordance with HB3646 which requires school districts to grant a salary increase to classroom teachers, full-time speech pathologists, full-time librarians, full-time counselors, and full-time school nurses.

The Texas Commissioner of Education determined that the federal stimulus funds that school districts and open-enrollment charter schools receive under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 can be used for the salary increases required in HB3646. The U.S. Department of Education approved the Texas plan for the use of federal funds on July 24, 2009.

The Board of Trustees approved a two percent increase from the mid-point of the salary schedule for paraprofessionals/clerical and auxiliary staff, and for administrators. The salary increases required by HB3646 allocated $1,017.22 for each Mathis ISD teacher plus the mid-point salary schedule increase of two percent.

Dr. Maria Rodriguez-Casas, Superintendent of Schools, said “With the collaboration of all administrators, we developed a budget that reflects the reality of reduced enrollment. We began the school year with 70 fewer students than in August, 2008. Usually enrollment increases the first three weeks of school, with new and returning students registering daily. There are no reductions in our expectations for our students or in our efforts to provide a learning environment that prepares them with the best teachers and the best tools for success.”

The Mathis ISD tax rate is $1.35 per $100 property value. The rate comprises $1.17 for maintenance and operations, and $0.18 for the debt service fund. There is no increase in the maintenance and operations portion of the tax rate and no increase in the debt service fund portion of the tax. Dr. Rostum Kavoussi, a financial consultant, recommended increasing the debt service rate to $0.1804. The Board of Trustees elected to keep the same rate for 2009-2010 as the prior year, taking the difference from the debt service fund balance.