Local News: College Station School District Struggle With Budget Cuts

CS School District to Outline Budget
By Cassie Smith

From the Bryan-College Station Eagle

Bryan and College Station school-district administrators are struggling to deal with the expected consequences of state budget cuts to public education, without resorting to some of the drastic measures being taken by other Texas districts, such as widespread employee layoffs.

Tonight at 7 p.m., College Station ISD officials will conduct a forum to outline for the public the choices the district will face and the potential impact on students and employees. Parents and the general public are encouraged to attend.

College Station is considering a reduction of at least $4.5 million to its budget, while the Bryan school board is looking to cut at least $4 million from its budget over the next two years.

However, administrators for both districts have acknowledged that those amounts could rise or fall depending on the direction the state takes in handling its revenue shortfall.

And final decisions may not come until June, putting the districts in a time squeeze for the upcoming school year.

Both districts also have been making budget reductions over the past few years to prepare for looming state cuts.

Superintendents Mike Cargill of Bryan ISD and Eddie Coulson of the College Station district agree that part of the difficulty in the process is that the state's budget won't be finalized until mid-May, unless the Legislature goes into special session, which could push a budget back until July. School districts, meanwhile, have to adopt budgets by the end of August.

Cargill said there are some school districts that are "driving the bus off the cliff" in terms of budget reductions.

There are many districts, he noted, that are laying off first-year teachers only -- a "really terrible" strategy because it hurts the future of education by eliminating the younger, enthusiastic applicants.

"I think there are some districts that are overreacting," he said. "But at the same time, they wouldn't be doing that if the state wasn't making the cuts they are."

Both local districts are hoping to prevent layoffs through attrition.

College Station's 2010-2011 maintenance and operations budget is $74.5 million, of which 82 percent goes toward salaries and benefits for its more than 1,500 employees. In Bryan, 75 percent of the budget is for salaries and benefits.

A big question for both districts is whether to raise taxes to offset state reductions of public-education funding, which statewide could amount to more than $9 billion.

Amy Drozd, Bryan's chief financial officer, said the district's planners haven't discussed the possibility of a tax increase with the school board because at present they are not expecting a tax hike will be necessary.

"If they do hit us hard, we may be forced too," she said of the Legislature. "But we need to see what they're going to do first."

College Station, meanwhile, expected to raise taxes before the state budget crisis, Coulson said.

Since 2005, the district had planned to implement at tax increase for the opening of College Station's second high school, Coulson said. Currently, the district's tax rate is $1 per $100 evaluation. State law allows school districts to raise taxes to $1.04 without getting voter approval. The district is one of a handful in the state to have a tax rate below $1.04. Each penny raised brings the district about $570,000 in additional revenue.

"The questions is, will that four pennies need to be used this year, next year, or the following year? I don't know the answer to that just yet," he said.

The district also is considering cutting its costs by reducing the number of custodians, grounds and maintenance crews, special education and central office personnel, technology integration specialists, elementary and intermediate specialists, nurses, and librarians.

Air conditioners will also be utilized more efficiently, advertising will be sold on school buses and the district's website, a new schedule of school start-times will be implemented to streamline bus routes and some extracurricular activities will be reduced.

"I remain hopeful though that the state will meet the challenge in terms of being able to fund the school districts," Coulson said. "I think to pin the issue on school districts is wrong. College Station ISD will step to the plate and do whatever we need to do."

The Bryan district has implemented budget reductions over the past three years, cutting about $3.4 million in the 2009-2010 school year, another $2.6 million in the 2008-2009 school year and more than $1.4 million in the 2007-2008 school year.

Cargill said the cuts have been made with an eye toward keeping existing programs intact and retaining all employees who want to keep their jobs.

Published on Thursday, March 31, 2011