Board votes to approve an audit taking a first step towards a possible tax increase election
June 18th, 2024
Faced with an approximate 2 million dollar budget shortfall for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, Uvalde CISD Trustees met for over four hours Monday night, June 17th to take their first steps to navigate what was referred to at the meeting as a hard year ahead. A contributing factor to the shortfall include inflation reducing the buying power of the District’s dollar to 66% of what the same dollar could purchase 8 years ago back in 2016 according to District Superintendent Ashley Chohlis. Additional factors include a decline in student attendance and attrition of teachers leaving the district. and the uncertainty of expected property tax revenue for the upcoming school year.
According to Chohlis, each position within the district is looked at very closely and when an employee leaves, the district will likely reassign existing staff to that position rather than add additional staff.
An example of this is the two district aides previously at Uvalde Dual Language Academy (UDLA) have been reassigned to other areas of the district.
Board members also discussed limiting spending to what was essential to the operations of the district and its schools.
Trustees also continued to discuss pursuing a property tax increase to provide needed funds for the schools.
According to Chohlis, a Texas Legislature mandate requiring each campus to have two police officers is a financial burden to the district. She stated the amount it costs the district to fulfill the mandate is about $100,000 per officer.
Near the end of the meeting, newly elected Trustee Jacklyn Gonzales expressed her reservations about voting to approve the 2024-2025 District Employee compensation plan unless additional information on property tax.
With the deadline for the resignation of current teachers just days away, the teachers need to know what the District’s compensation plan will be for the next school year prior to their cut off date.
Gonzales’ continued pressing Uvalde Chief Financial Officer Pamela Bendele for more budget options and plans.
“But We don’t have anything right now on what we’re going to be doing for the budget,” Gonzales said.
” What I presented last Monday night… I don’t think there will be a lot of change. We are still reviewing some but I don’t think there will be a substantial amount of change from what was presented last Monday night,” Bendele said.
Gonzales said, “I don’t think that it’s responsible for us to go business as usual given our current state and that’s what you’re suggesting we go business as usual.”
“No ma’am, No, We started with a zero based budget this year. First time this district has ever done that. ” Bendele said.
“We spent a great amount of time with a zero based budget, By zero based budget I mean everyone started with zero. They analyzed their budgets. They spent a lot of time the administrators and the departments analyzing where they sent money.
I am confident about what we have. We have spent all spring doing that,” Bendele said.
In the end, the Board voted to approve the District’s employee compensation plan with one dissenting vote cast.
