EDITORIAL
Hays CISD board of trustees elections will be held May 14. God help the people who step into the shoes of trustees whose spots are up.
Positions that are due for election include the at-large district (vacated by Mark Jones who was elected as Precinct 2 county commissioner), District 1 (currently held by Melissa Villarreal) and District 2 (held by Willie Tenorio).
Whoever decides to jump into the fray, whether for re-election or for a first time job, is going to have to know a lot about budgets and be willing to get into a fight.
Because there surely will be one.
The initial state budget suggested cuts school funding by $9.3 billion in Texas. At this point, school districts across the state are looking at anywhere from 10 to 20 percent in state funding cuts.
That’s no small potatoes in Hays CISD.
In a very short capsulation, the 2010-2011 budget for Hays CISD, including food service and debt service, is $142.91 million. Of that, Texas kicked in $82.8 million. Of course, the major portion of those funds – $72 million – coming from the state foundation revenues, are based on enrollment. With Hays CISD continuing to grow, though at a much slower pace than previous years, the district is still looking at level state funding or maybe a 5 percent reduction. Good news in the overall scheme of things, when you think of other districts closing schools, laying off teachers and other school personnel and more.
Still, there’s bound to be fights – with more students and fewer funds per student, which district gets what? Will there be layoffs, or just hiring freezes? Will any freezes be mainly out of central administration, or in the ranks of the teachers?
So what’s a new trustee to do? Listen. Learn. Ask a lot of questions. And following a gut instinct if you think something is wrong.
With meetings of the school board on average once a month, and budget hearings coming almost immediately after the election, anyone stepping onto the board will have a lot of homework to do. The budget schedule calls for preliminary budget discussion with the board to begin in March, though any active board member will be working with the district’s finance officer, Carter Scherff, and his staff much earlier. A board of trustees workshop is scheduled for March and April, and then after the May elections there’s another workshop. The trustees will be looking at a budget draft in June, with final adoption in August.
Just in time for school to start!
Whew!
So, come on out and get your feet wet. If you have opinions on how the district should save monies, toss your hat in the ring. Don’t be shy.
There’s new blood in the superintendent’s office, in various central administration positions, in the football position at Hays, so why not for the school board?
