By Bob Belcher
Corsicana Daily Sun
Corsicana —
Corsicana Independent School District trustees got their first look at the school district’s budget Monday, a preview of the district’s spending plan for the fiscal year beginning Sept. 1.
Teachers in the district are in line for state-mandated salary increases, and most other district employees will see a 3 percent salary increase in the coming year. The teacher increases are on a sliding scale, based on factors including years of service, said Mike Nielsen, assistant superintendent of budget and finance.
“We’re in good shape,” said Dr. Diane Frost, CISD superintendent. “It’s because we’ve been very frugal, we’ve had excellent leadership in the budgeting and finance process.”
The district isn’t planning any increase in the ad valorem tax rate, and has been averaging a 99 percent collection rate for the last several years, Nielsen said. Tax collections are slightly under budget for the current year, but Nielsen said those dollars could be realized by the first part of next year.
One hit the district did see this year is an increase in health insurance costs for district employees, an average 7 percent hike, according to Nielsen.
“I think we have a good budget this year, although we have some areas we need to work on,” he told trustees.
Nielsen also said the district would be spending time this year working with staff on how to best manage resources, including the best use of personnel in scheduling to help avoid overtime costs.
Frost did express concern about what the budget may bring a year from now, depending on how the state legislature deals with the next state budget in 2011.
“I’m very concerned that we’re going to be exactly where other districts are now, which is making budget cuts — significant budget cuts,” she said.
The district is projecting a $3.4 million surplus of revenue over expenditures for the current budget year, which comes to a close Aug. 31, although exact revenue and expenses numbers for August remain to the finalized.
Trustees will vote on a tax rate and final budget on Aug. 30.
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Bob Belcher may be reached by e-mail at belcher@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “Soundoff” on this story? E-mail: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com
