Dripping Springs ISD approves budget assumptions, parameters with 1% pay jump

DRIPPING SPRINGS  — Following discussion at its agenda review on Feb. 20, the DSISD Board of Trustees voted 6-0 to approve the budget assumptions and parameters for FY 2024-25, which includes a 1% pay increase for all staff, at its regular Feb. 26 meeting.

The following assumptions and parameters are used as a starting point for building the General Fund budget:

• Student enrollment of 8,900 based on population and survey analysts' (PASA) moderate growth model, reduced to 98% for funding estimates.

• Average daily attendance (ADA) rate of 95.25% (five-year average)

• Property value growth estimate of 8%

• 1% pay increase for all staff

• Budget parameter of 2% (level of deficit approval based on board policy)

• Maintain the current monthly contribution to health insurance at $350 per month

• Maintain the current monthly contribution to Health Savings/Health Reimbursement Accounts at $75 per month

During her presentation to the board, Chief Financial Officer Gina Mitschke explained that the district administration has changed some of its recommendations. Back in December, administration recommended a 3% pay increase for all staff, but at this time, that has now changed to 1% due to no additional funding for school districts, lower student growth and inflationary impacts.

“We are still dealing with the 2019 funding. We haven’t received any increases since then. We received new PASA enrollment projections in January and, of course, we were waiting to make sure our preliminary values from the comptroller were accurate and we have received those,” she said. “We do feel comfortable and confident in those numbers. Then, there was also a new state aid template released in early February and after running the numbers through that, we were looking at a very significant deficit, which is outside the board parameters.”

Mitschke said that there is a possibility that the Texas Education Agency could “look at things differently” and the district might see more revenue where the board could decide on doing an additional pay increase.

“I would say, it would be very difficult late in the year to do that because any increase you put into the budget, if we don’t have the revenue, then we need to find reductions in that amount,” she said.

By including just the 1% pay increase, DSISD is looking at a $4.5 to $4.9 million deficit, which is $2.5 to $3 million that the district needs to reduce in order to be within the budget parameter, according to Mitschke.

Following the presentation, board president Stefani Reinold highlighted that trustees expressed their concern, during agenda review, about only doing a 1% pay increase for staff.

“If we basically increase more students coming to school by 1%, it would account for 1% in our budget parameters,” she said. “Somewhat unrelated topics, but also really important talking points in our community, [are] about how important attendance is. And I know that’s something y’all are working toward next year to kind of highlight and bring about awareness to that fact.”

Reinold asked for clarification that even with the 1%, the board is passing a budget deficit of $5 million.

“We are not looking to bring that here. That’s what we are working on,” Mitschke responded. “No, we would not go outside that parameter. At this moment in time, yes we need to reduce $2.8 million, or $2.5 to $3 [million], it’s going to fluctuate as we move along … We would still be adopting a deficit budget, but it will be within the parameter that the board has agreed to, or that is in policy.”

Looking at enrollment numbers for this year, DSISD is down compared to previous years and projections are also low. While the district is still growing, Mitschke explained that it’s at a pace where the funding is currently not keeping up with expenditures.

Trustee Tricia Quintero suggested collaborating with the Dripping Springs Education Foundation to look at alternative ways the board could possibly help with fundraising for teachers.

“I am not particularly happy with just the 1%, I think our teachers deserve way more than that. Obviously, we can’t break our budget, but I would definitely like to look outside the box to see what we can do as a board or just any way we can help out with this without having to raise taxes, per say,” she said.

Mitschke responded, saying that the administration is looking at all areas including ways to generate more revenue locally.

Trustee Dr. Mary Jane Hetrick reminded the board and community members that DSISD is not the only district who is having these issues: “It’s happening across the state. Every few days, there’s typically positions being cut in response to these budget shortfalls. I just think it helps contextually to understand that we are all in the same boat.”

Reinold, and superintendent Dr. Holly Morris-Kuentz, added that some districts across the state are laying off staff members and closing schools.

“As much as it is heartbreaking to see these numbers, it would be even more heartbreaking to be, at this point, laying off entire programming or closing schools,” Reinold said. “We are not in a place to do that, obviously.”

Also during the meeting, the DSISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved the replacement of the gymnasium floor at Dripping Springs Middle School at a cost not to exceed $235,000.

A large portion of the hardwood floor in the Main Gymnasium (A Gym) at DSMS was damaged due to a water leak resulting from a frozen pipe during the prolonged freezing conditions in January, according to Director of Facilities & Construction Clint Pruett.

The district received a cost proposal of $233,450 from Quality Hardwoods to replace the floor. The cost of repairs is less than the district’s property insurance deductible, therefore, insurance will not cover the replacement floor, according to Pruett.

“[Quality Hardwoods] is an approved vendor through the BuyBoard Cooperative and a vendor we have used often through the years for gym floor maintenance, repairs and replacement,” Pruett said.

The recommended funding source is 2023 bond funds from the DSMS Capital Improvements and Renovations Project — the capital improvements at the campus did not include replacement of the gym floor, so this would be an increase in scope to the project.

To watch the full meeting, visit www.dsisdtx.us/Page/3273.