SCHOOL NEWS
BISD meets early Thursday for budget
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.
Bowie school trustees began the arduous task of creating a 2024-25 budget during a lengthy workshop this week.
The board also reviewed some possible changes in the student/employee handbooks and codes of conduct.
Superintendent Blake Enlow said the board spent about two hours in discussion Monday night and began crunching numbers; however, many factors still remain unknown including state funding and local ad valorem tax revenue.
Trustees examined where the district stands for the rest of the fiscal year that ends in August. Finance Director Paula Peterson said the district is catching up on the arrival some state revenues, which she hopes will help offset the expect shortfall. The 2023-24 budget adopted with a half-million deficit, but Enlow said they hope to keep that down as much as possible.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
As the Bowie School District launches into its summer projects, several department heads offered their year-end reports to the trustees last Thursday.
Annual reports
Wayne Walker, support services director, told the board the management team for all his departments set a goal to reduce budget expenses this year and so far they are below budget projections as the school year winds down and summer projects kick off.
As of June 6, child nutrition was $235,678.46 below budget; transportation, $217,942.20 below budget and custodial $312,277.44 below budget, for an overall projected amount of $765,898.10 below budget.
“We hope to finish August 2024 under budget to help out the district in recouping some of the adopt deficit budget for 2023-24. We are projecting in the right direction to end the fiscal year,” said Walker.
Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.
Bowie High School’s Mighty Marching Maroon Band will host a fundraiser paint party from 6-8 p.m. on June 18 in the high school cafeteria.
Cost is $30 to paint an 11 X 14 pre-traced canvas with $15 of each prepaid ticket going to the boosters. The band boosters will be providing snacks, and all supplies such as paint, brushes and canvas are provided.
Host will be Shannon Adkins of Texas Gals Creative Studio.
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