Nothing Is Firm for Schools’ Budgeters
June 24, 2005
The Dallas Morning News has a story today about the budgets of local school districts. With the uncertainty of the outcome of the special legislative session on school finance, area districts are finding it hard to finalize their budgets.
In Cedar Hill, budget officials can’t wait that long. The school district is on a July 1 through June 30 fiscal year.
“The bottom line is that even when the board approves a budget by the end of this month, there will be amendments probably through mid-August that we’ll have to make,” said Cedar Hill Chief Financial Officer Debbe Roesler.
Cedar Hill Superintendent Jim Gibson said this is the district’s second July-June fiscal year. Most school districts operate on a September through August fiscal year.
He said the district’s external auditor recommended that cycle because it resulted in 10 months of operating expense the year Cedar Hill first executed the July-June move. The district’s fund balance improved about $2.5 million because of the move, Dr. Gibson said.
He also said the off fiscal year gives district personnel time to concentrate on the budget without the added pressure of the school year beginning.
Dr. Gibson said the biggest hit in the 2005-06 budget is opening two new campuses – Bessie Coleman Middle School and the new Ninth Grade Center.
“There are added operational costs of the two new buildings. Maintenance and cleaning, insuring them, associated utilities. All of that has to be paid for,” he said. “We’re being very conservative about adding staff.”
Cedar Hill is proposing a $1.15 million increase in instruction and a $1.63 million increase in maintenance and operations on the expenditure side of the budget.
The worst-case scenario shows the Cedar Hill district spending about $2.42 million more that it has in revenues for the 2005-06 fiscal year, Ms. Roesler said. However, the district has about $8.75 million in reserve funds.
Ms. Roesler told board members at a budget workshop Monday that the district was not “broke. We are one of the lucky districts that have a fund balance to fall back on.”
Dr. Gibson said there were no salary increases in the preliminary budget.
“That’s yet another factor that needs to be in there,” he said.
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Welcome!
My name is Wade Emmert and I am a Council Member for the City of Cedar Hill. This web site is a way for me to share with you some of my thoughts about issues important to the City.
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