Tyler

By MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writer

The Tyler ISD Board of Trustees will consider today adopting its 2008-09 budget and setting a half-cent lower tax rate.

The new budget includes pay raises for teachers and other employees, as well as new money for technology purchases.

Citizens will have a chance to speak during a public hearing on the proposed budget before the board votes tonight.

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. in the Dr. Jack L. Davidson Conference Center in the Jim Plyler Instructional Complex, 807 W. Glenwood Blvd.

The current total tax rate for TISD is $1.215 per $100 valuation. That includes a maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate of $1.0297 and a debt service tax rate of .1853 per $100 valuation.

The proposed total tax rate is $1.21 per $100 valuation, which includes an M&O tax rate of $1.0247 per $100 valuation and a debt service tax rate of .1853 per $100 valuation. If adopted, that would be a .4 percent, or a half-cent, decrease.

In May, Tosha Bjork, director of financial services for TISD, told the board the district would likely need to raise its M&O rate by a penny.

But earlier this month, Ms. Bjork told trustees the rate could remain the same because the district will receive an unexpected increase in its target revenue per student.

A state recalculation resulted in TISD receiving $127 more per student in target revenue than in past years.

Because of the recalculation, the district received a payment from the state of about $2.8 million for the 2006-07 school year and expects to receive around that amount for the 2007-08 school year. The expected $2.8 million for the 2008-09 school year is being used to balance the proposed 2008-09 budget, Ms. Bjork has said.

The district had recommended keeping the M&O tax rate at the current rate of $1.0297, but at a recent board meeting trustees voted 5-2 to lower it by the half-cent because of the extra revenue the district is receiving.

"Our budget's still lean," TISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid said Friday. "We still have a prioritized list of needs that we haven't been able to get to. But because of the additional money that we did receive with the refiguring at the state level, we have been able to go a little bit further down that prioritized list. We feel really good, especially in comparison with where we were a couple of months ago."

Reid also said they believe the ability to cut the tax rate, even slightly, is something "we hope the public appreciates, even though it may be short-lived, depending upon what happens with the Legislature this January."

BUDGET

The proposed 2008-09 budget is now $129,987,549, while the current year budget is $125,318,051 -- an increase of about $4.7 million, or 3.7 percent.

TISD is proposing to give teachers a $1,200 pay increase, raise starting teacher pay from $38,000 to $39,500 and give 3 percent of the midpoint pay increase to other employees.

Other increases include an extra $578,000 in the transportation budget for fuel and $500,000 extra for utilities. The district is also proposing to put $350,000 toward the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program.

About $375,000 was cut from the original proposed budget because of the board's decision to propose a half-cent lower tax rate. That amount was cut from the $500,000 originally set aside for technology purchases.

Reid said the good news is that the cut came from a spot that was a new allocation of money anyway.

"And � we do believe we're going to be able to supplement that amount as � needs grow, with some of our reserves," Reid said.

TAXES

The total taxable values for TISD for 2008-09 were about $7.4 billion, about a $500 million, or 7.2 percent, increase from the 2007-08 taxable values of about $6.9 billion, according to figures from the Smith County Appraisal District.

Property tax revenues for TISD in 2008-09 are projected to be $84,019,797, up about $4.2 million from 2007-08 property tax revenues of $79,831,670. That's a 5.2 percent increase. Those figures are based on a 96.75 percent collection rate.

The average home value for TISD for 2008-09 is $131,048. That's a $5,411, or about a 4.3 percent, increase from the average home value in TISD for 2007-08 of $125,637.

The average tax bill, factoring in a $15,000 homestead exemption, would be $1,404.18 for 2008-09.

That's about a 4.5 percent, or $59.94, increase from the 2007-08 average tax bill of $1,344.24.

OTHER ITEMS

Also on today's agenda is the approval of wireless network installation at several campuses and the approval of architectural and engineering service for projects in the November bond election.

The administration is recommending entering into contract negotiations with Eubanks-Harris-Roberts-Craig Architects and Corgan/Sinclair and Wright Architects, according to the agenda.

The board will also consider policy updates and revisions at tonight's special meeting.