• To view the official agenda, click here.
The Houston ISD Board of Education will meet Thursday, June 20, 2013 to consider adopting a $1.62 billion budget that includes $20 million to tutor more students at struggling schools across the city while ensuring that HISD continues to offer the lowest tax rate among the two dozen school districts in Harris County.
On Monday, June 10, Governor Perry signed House Bill 5 into law. The bill dramatically revises the number of high school student assessments required for graduation as well as overall graduation plans in Texas.
“HISD students will now only be required to pass five end-of-course exams to earn a diploma rather than the 15 exams that were previously required,” said HISD Government Relations Director Veronica Garcia.
The following statement is being issued in response to today’s announcement that the Texas Legislature has reached a budget agreement, which restores $3.4 billion of the previous $5.4 billion cut to public education and provides $530 million for the Teacher Retirement System.
“The Houston Independent School District commends the Texas Legislature for the significant restoration of public education funding this session. This increase, although positive, does not restore the $5.4 billion in education cuts that were made in 2011. We look forward to working with the Legislature and other leaders to address the obvious shortcomings in the current school finance system, which has been declared unconstitutional. For Texas to remain at the forefront of America’s economic recovery, we need a school finance system that recognizes the costs associated with helping all children achieve the high academic standards we have for them.”
On Tuesday, community members gathered at Madison High School for the first of nine community meetings to learn more about Houston ISD’s budgeting process.
Nine meetings scheduled across Houston in April and May
April 25, 2013 – In an effort to provide taxpayers a guide to understanding the district’s budget, the Houston Independent School District is hosting a series of community meetings across the city that will outline the budgeting process from planning, to adoption and implementation.
“We want our constituents to understand how HISD’s budget process works, how much money does each school get and even how they can get involved,” said HISD Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Huewitt. “Our goal is to ensure HISD’s budget and financial information is readily available and user friendly so that taxpayers know exactly how their tax dollars are allocated and spent.”
The meetings will cover key aspects of HISD’s budgeting process such as where the money comes from, how much is designated to each of the 276 campuses, who decides how the money is spent at each campus and who monitors the budget, among other topics.
HISD’s General Manager of Budget and Financial Planning Sharon Eaves will be leading the budget presentations at the community meetings.
Upcoming Community Budget Meetings:
Ryan students will move to nearby Cullen; Vote postponed on plan to merge Sterling and Jones high schools
The HISD Board of Education on Thursday approved a transition plan that will allow historic Ryan Middle School to be repurposed as a magnet school designed to attract students from throughout the city.
Have you ever wondered how money is spent in a large school district? Do you know where the money comes from and how your child’s school is funded?
If you’d like to know just how the Houston Independent School District pays for the many educational services we provide to Houston’s children, take a look at our latest web page – HISD Budget Basics. You’ll find information on:
All Houston ISD teachers will receive 2-percent pay raises under the district’s 2012-2013 budget that includes pay increases for all staff without increasing the property tax rate.
The Houston Independent School District Board of Education adopted the budget Thursday on a unanimous vote. Trustees Lawrence Marshall, Harvin Moore, and Manuel Rodriguez Jr. were absent.
In September, all Houston ISD employees will receive pay increases ranging from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent under the budget approved on Thursday.
HISD’s non-teaching staff last received a pay raise in 2009-2010, and some, but not all, teachers received a raise in 2010-2011. No employees received raises during the 2011-2012 school year. Dr. Grier said the pay increases are necessary to remain competitive with surrounding Houston-area school districts that have already proposed doing so.
All teachers will receive a 2 percent pay raise.
Other employee groups will receive the following salary increases:
Click here to view the board approved 2012-13 teacher salary schedule. Click here to view a Frequently Asked Questions document about teacher salary schedules.
Other salary schedules can be found at the following links: technology employees, principals, assistant principals and deans, hourly master salary schedule, and the master salary schedule.
Employees with questions about the new salary schedules may submit them via email to compensationdept@houstonisd.org.
Addressing state funding cuts
The $1.58 billion budget addresses the loss of $47.1 million in state funding with $8.9 million from the district’s savings account, which currently stands at about $257 million.
The Texas Legislature’s decision to cut public education funding by $5.4 billion statewide cost HISD schools $125.1 million over a two-year period. Because of these cuts, the state now pays 21 percent of HISD’s budget, compared to 26 percent a year ago. The amount of HISD’s revenue that comes from local tax dollars now totals 79 percent.
About $17 million of the shortfall caused by the cut in state funding will be covered by reducing the amount of general fund money that is normally transferred to HISD’s debt service fund to help repay loans at a faster rate than is required. This reduction is a one-time option that will not be available in future years.
HISD has also identified several areas of decreased spending for the upcoming school year. These include:
Although the board will not adopt a property tax rate until later this year, Superintendent Terry Grier intends to recommend that HISD maintain the current tax rate, which is the lowest of any school district in Harris County. Last week, the Board of Education agreed to continue granting an optional 20 percent homestead exemption in addition to the standard $15,000 exemption that homeowners across the state receive.
The Houston ISD Board of Education will meet Thursday, June 21, 2012 to consider adopting a $1.58 billion budget that addresses the loss of $47.1 million in state funding and provides staff pay raises without increasing the property tax rate.
The Texas Legislature’s decision to cut public education funding by $5.4 billion statewide cost HISD schools $125.1 million over a two-year period. Because of these cuts, the state now pays 21 percent of HISD’s budget, compared to 26 percent a year ago. The amount of HISD’s revenue that comes from local tax dollars now totals 79 percent.
All Houston ISD employees would receive pay increases ranging from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent under the proposal.
HISD’s non-teaching staff last received a pay raise in 2009-2010, and some, but not all, teachers received a raise in 2010-2011. No employees received raises during the 2011-2012 school year. Superintendent Terry Grier has asked the board to consider the pay increases in an effort to remain competitive with surrounding Houston-area school districts that have already proposed doing so.
Under the proposal, all teachers would receive a 2 percent pay raise.
Other employee groups would receive the following salary increases under the compensation proposal:
The district is addressing a projected revenue shortfall in part with $8.9 million from the district’s savings account, which currently stands at about $257 million.
About $17 million of the shortfall caused by the cut in state funding would be covered by reducing the amount of general fund money that is normally transferred to HISD’s debt service fund to help repay loans at a faster rate than is required. This reduction is a one-time option that will not be available in future years.
HISD has also identified several areas of decreased spending for the upcoming school year. These include:
Although the board will not adopt a property tax rate until later this year, Dr. Grier intends to recommend that HISD maintain the current tax rate, which is the lowest of any school district in Harris County. Last week, the Board of Education agreed to continue granting an optional 20 percent homestead exemption in addition to the standard $15,000 exemption that homeowners across the state receive.
The Board’s meeting begins at 5 p.m. with a public budget hearing in the board auditorium of the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 West 18th St., 77092). Click here to read the full agenda. The meeting will be carried live on HISD’s website and on the HISD Channel, which can be found on Comcast Channel 18 or AT&T Channel 99.
The HISD Board of Education was presented with a 2012-2013 budget proposal on Thursday that addresses a $43.6 million deficit while maintaining the current property tax rate and per-student funding levels.
Like other school systems across Texas, the Houston Independent School District is grappling with the fallout of the Texas Legislature’s decision to reduce education funding by $5.3 billion over a two-year period. For HISD, the two-year cut totals more than $120 million.
The proposal, which requires school board approval, calls for a $16.5 million employee compensation package that would help HISD keep pace with a growing number of Texas school districts that have already announced plans to approve pay raises. HISD salaries were frozen this school year, and only a portion of teachers received state-mandated pay raises in 2010-2011.
A detailed proposal for distributing the proposed pay raises will be presented to the board in May.
The district’s deficit would be covered in part with a $17 million reduction in the amount of general fund money that is normally transferred to HISD’s debt service fund to help repay loans. This reduction is a one-time option that will not be available in future years. In addition, $8 million would be transferred from the district’s $257 million general fund balance.
HISD finance experts worked with principals and central office administrators to identify several areas of potential savings in 2012-2013. These potential savings include:
• $3.5 million in reduced employee healthcare costs through increased efficiencies that should not impact quality of service.
• $1.7 million less in special funding for six unique schools.
• $1.6 million in non-campus departmental cuts, primarily through eliminating positions and layoffs. Last year, HISD eliminated 221 non-campus positions.
Earlier this year, HISD asked the community for feedback on a plan to implement a uniform bell schedule that would have added 19 minutes to the average school day and save $1.2 million. On Thursday, Chief Operating Officer Leo Bobadilla said the district will not pursue the change after considering feedback from parents and principals. HISD recently conducted a survey and 11 town hall meetings on the topic. The transportation department, which was recently recognized as one of the top school transportation systems in the nation, will continue exploring more ways to increase efficiency.
HISD is also losing $5.7 million in federal Title I funding for programs that benefit low-income students. Because the federal money will no longer cover the cost of programs that allow students to take online courses during non-traditional school hours, the Board of Education previously agreed to use local tax dollars to cover that $3.1 million cost. The board is now being asked to consider whether to continue funding other programs that were formally funded with Title I money.
The Board of Education is set to discuss the proposed budget in several upcoming public meetings before adopting a budget in June.