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BISD meets early Thursday for budget

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The Bowie Independent School District will finalize its 2024-25 budget when the board of trustees meet for a pair of early morning meetings on Aug. 31, the last day of the fiscal year.
The public hearing for the proposed tax rate and budget will be at 7 a.m. on Aug. 31.
The proposed budget projects expenses of $18,186,973 and revenues of $17,649,586. It includes a 2% pay increase for teachers and paraprofessionals, and all would move to the next step. Non-step employees would get a 2% raise.
Calculations for the budget have been difficult to narrow down as the State Legislature will have a special session on school funding in October and there is a special election to increase the homestead tax exemption from $40,000 to $100,000, which is expected to pass on Nov. 7. The state template for the school year funding has not been finalized and BISD has not received its final two state funding payments for the present fiscal years, which leaves the end-of-year figures in questions.
The proposed tax rate is .887180, which is lower than the 2022 rate of $1.03460 per $100 in property value. Maintenance and operation would receive .69180 cents and .18 for debt service. Per the district’s tax rate publication the average market value of a home in the district is $180,509 this year and with the proposed tax rate taxes for that value will go down $459.71.
Taxable revenue will change significantly if the homestead exemption changes to the higher amount and those adjustments will have to be made after those results are known. The legislature has indicated it will help make up any funding loss, but no specifics have been made public.
In a second meeting at 7:15 a.m. the board will make any amendments to the 2022-23 budget, designate the committed fund balance, approve the salary schedule and budget for 2023-24 and the 2023 tax rate.

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TEA delays A-F accountability ratings

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The staff at the Texas Education Agency this past week announced a temporary delay in the release of 2023 A-F accountability ratings for districts and campuses, originally scheduled for Sept. 28.
The A-F system is a tool that evaluates how well districts and campuses help students reach certain learning goals. As prescribed by statute, A-F ratings must balance multiple objectives to ensure a rigorous, transparent, and fair system, and are based on:
A. Achievement – how well all students have learned certain academic content – and
B. Progress – how much all students have gained academically over the course of the year
C. Closing the Gaps – how well schools raise academic performance among certain groups of students.
Lee Ann Farris, assistant superintendent, told the Bowie School Trustees Monday night, the state used 2018-2019 , plus 2020-21 data which was impacted significantly by COVID. Those comparisons were not really “apples to apples,” and a lot of schools went down in the ratings.

Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.

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Nocona Indians celebrate homecoming

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The Nocona Indians salute during the opening National Anthem as they prepared to take on the Chico Dragons. (Photo by Barbara Green)
Skyler Smith was crowned the 2023 Nocona High School Homecoming Queen in ceremonies last Friday night. Her parents Zac and Sommer Smith look on as 2022 Queen Calli Womack. (Photo by Barbara Green)
Nocona Coach Blake Crutsinger gets a hug from Lindsey Sansing, granddaughter of Jack Crain, the Nocona football great for home the stadium is named. A special homecoming game ball was presented to the coach by Sansing prior to the start of Friday’s ball game.
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Bowie High homecoming moves inside, lightning cancels game

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Sterling Harrington and Kaitlyn Fitzgerald were crowned 2023 Bowie High School Homecoming royalty during impromptu ceremonies in the gym. Lightning delayed and eventually canceled the game, but ceremonies moved inside the school. All members of the homecoming court are shown with the royals.

Sterling Harrington and Kaitlyn Fitzgerald are crowned Bowie High School Homecoming king and queen Friday night. (Photos by Jordan Neal)

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