The Ector County Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a $297,534,572 general fund budget for 2019-2020 at their meeting this week.
The 2018-2019 budget was $272,594,509.
The difference between the two appropriations is $24,940,063. Most of the rise in revenue comes from an increase in Foundation School funding from the state — $15,012,942 — and higher estimated tax collections of $8,470,758 due to an increase in appraised values, the board recap said.
Cost increases for the coming year included staff raises and stipend increases of $10.9 million, staffing changes of $3.8 million, the Texas Association of School Boards salary study adjustments ($2.6 million), increase in school budgets ($1.7 million), increases in utility costs ($1.4 million), vehicles/buses cost increases ($1.3 million), campus computer devices ($1.4 million) and increased insurance costs ($784,500), the recap from Wednesday’s special meeting said.
As required by law, the board also approved a food service budget of about $16.7 million (an increase of $1 million dollars) and a debt service budget of $13.1 million, which the recap said is nearly the same as last year.
School district tax rates are divided into maintenance and operations and interest and sinking for debt payments.
House Bill 3, passed by the Texas Legislature this past session, will decrease the school district’s maintenance and operations tax rate from $1.17 to $1.0684. The interest and sinking (debt service) tax rate will remain $0.1096.
The board will officially adopt a new tax rate in September.
On a separate item, the board approved hiring Kamye Smith as the principal of Pease Elementary School. She replaces Autumn Sloan.
Smith has served on campuses around the district and most recently was the assistant principal at Blanton Elementary School. Smith has been with ECISD for 13 years and had been with Child Protective Services for 10 years previously.
Smith also was an assistant principal at West and Burleson elementary schools, the recap said. She was a campus curriculum facilitator for Burleson for one year and a teacher for a total of seven years at Goliad Elementary in Odessa and South Elementary in Midland.
“I’m excited, ready to get busy … I’m excited to get in there and work with the staff over at Pease and help those pre-k through second grade students,” Smith said.
On a separate item, trustees voted 7-0 to support the administration’s recommendation to non-renew the term contract of Joshua Moore.
