East Texas

By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer

JACKSONVILLE -- Jacksonville Independent School District recently adopted a deficit budget for the 2008-09 year, but school officials say it is not an emergency situation.

Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Lindy Finley said a deficit budget has actually been adopted on other occasions, and there was reason for adopting the deficit budget this year.

The "primary reason for having to adopt a deficit budget is because the state finance system does not account for inflation and we are receiving the same amount of money per weighted student as we did in 2005-06," she wrote in an e-mail.� "In order to overcome the state cap on revenue we need to increase student enrollment by 48 students in order to balance the budget."

School board president James Houser said that, although property values increased in Cherokee County this year -- including his own home valuation, which increased 60 percent -- the district did not get extra money from the increased collections.

The total estimated revenue the city expects to get in 2008-09 is $33,593,288 versus the $33,843,288 they expect to have in total estimated expenditures.

Finley said that, even with a deficit budget of $250,000, the district does have a healthy "savings account."

"We're really comfortable with the deficit," she said, adding that the district does not anticipate having to use money from the "savings account."

If it is needed, Houser said, there is about $6 million currently in reserve.

"We'll do what's necessary to keep the quality of education up," he added.

Ms. Finley also pointed out that there is always some savings in payroll.

For example, she said a staff member could be getting their insurance from their spouse's plan instead of the district's plan.

On a positive note, the district's incentive pay budget increased by $185,000 because one campus received an "exemplary" rating from the state and four campuses received a "recognized" rating, Ms. Finley wrote in an e-mail.

"Exemplary" is the highest rating a school can receive and is partly based on scores from the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.

Additionally, Houser noted that teachers were still able to get pay increases.

Among other expenditures the district budgeted for is the cost of fuel.

Ms. Finley said there is a projected 30 percent increase in fuel costs for 2008-09.

In 2007-08, approximately $275,000 was spent on transportation and fuel, not including maintenance, she said.

Besides fuel, the district budgeted $4,283,440 for Plant Maintenance and Operations for 2008-09.

Finley said that number is not substantially different than last year and that the district has had to shift focus.

"We're not able to do some of the maintenance things we would like to do," she said. "We're in a repair mode instead of a maintenance mode."

Finley said the budget will be re-evaluated after December and cuts will be made if needed.