In the midst of the nation’s ongoing economic struggles, a number of businesses and organizations have been forced to cut costs and balance lessened budgets. School districts have not been exempted from this struggle, including CCISD. The district’s Board of Directors is already in the midst of its fiscal discussions for the 2010-2011 school year to discern the most efficient ways to balance the budget while maintaining CCISD’s standard of education.

While many districts in Texas have faced deficits in the past, they have been able to balance their budgets with the assistance of the state legislature. However, when the last legislative session ended in June, the state had made no further long term commitments to continue to help districts keep up with increasing costs due to inflation, rising gas and insurance prices, and the need to create more schools. Approximately one third of schools in Region Four, of which CCISD is a part, adopted budget deficits this year. Dr. Greg Smith, CCISD Superintendent of schools, said he expects another one third of the region to do so next year.

As a growing school district, CCISD has experienced the increasing demands of balancing its budget. The district will be opening its fifth comprehensive high school, as well as a new intermediate school, in the fall of 2010. Altogether, these new campuses will add another $5.5 million in costs to the district. While the state does allot funds to districts for taking on more students, the amount will not completely offset the expenses incurred by the addition of two new campuses. CCISD also expects to see escalations in property and casualty insurance, as well as a need for teacher salary increases and other new expenses. In total, so far the district expects to face a $9-$10 million deficit next year.

“The funding levels from the state aren’t sufficient for growth,” CCISD Chief Financial Officer Paul McLarty said.

The district has already begun working on finding ways to save money without decreasing the quality of education it offers. So far, energy conservation efforts have saved CCISD $743,000. The district’s “Walk to Stop” program lengthened the distance between bus stops and saved an additional $200,000. The transition from block scheduling to a seven period day also saved the district $2.5 million this year.

“We have been frugal with our expenses and will have to continue to be that way in the future,” Dr. Smith said.

However, these savings have not been enough to cover the entire deficit. District employees have been looking into a number of different options to help save money. Some possibilities that have been discussed have ranged from allowing out of district students of CCISD employees to come into the district to raise additional revenue to cutting the cost of employee travel. The district will also continue to evaluate current programs, such as Smaller Learning Communities, to see where to best allocate funds.

“Everything is on the table for us to look at this point,” Dr. Smith said.

The district is also working to develop alternative revenue sources and is currently looking into placing advertisements on buses as an option for raising additional funds. CCISD has already held the first reading of the draft policy for this action.

While CCISD is working to save money and garner additional revenue, it is looking to do so without decreasing its standards as a district. The district has avoided cutting allocations to schools and is working to ensure that campuses continue to offer non-mandatory elective programs that allow students to pursue their passions. Dr. Smith said that the district is not considering a teacher reduction in force to reduce costs at this time.

“We want to make sure we remain the highest performing large school district in the State of Texas,” McLarty said.

In December, McLarty began walking the CCISD Board of Trustees through the annual budget to identify priorities for the 2010-2011 school year.  The Board will be responsible for approving the finalized budget that it believes best both implements CCISD’s mission of providing students with a high quality education and displays fiscal integrity.

The Board will receive input from committees made up of CCISD staff, students, and community members throughout the area and will utilize these priorities, as well as their own findings, to develop a budget that best utilizes the district’s current funds. It will also be looking for ways to save money and develop other revenue sources. Some budget priorities that have thus far been identified include maintaining competitive staff salaries and academic standards.

In addition to finding ways to cut spending, if the district finds itself unable to balance the budget, it has the ability to access a capital outlay plan that will help offset any negative balances by helping take care of the district in case of an emergency and for non-reoccurring expenses.

If CCISD continues to face a large deficit, it is possible that the Board may consider increasing class sizes across the district. By allowing classes have one to two more students, the district could save millions of dollars. The district is looking to avoid this course of action at this point.

In the event that CCISD does not receive any additional assistance from the state of Texas and is still trying to resolve forecasted deficits, the district may have to hold an election in the community and attempt to raise the tax rate to bring in additional funds. Currently the district is working to balance its budget without taking this measure.

“This is not a good time to go out and ask for a tax rate increase,” Dr. Smith said.

The Board of Directors is expected to continue discussing next year’s budget until August 2010. Though the district faces a number of difficult decisions regarding fiscal planning, its goal remains to maintain its high standards and to create students who are college and workforce ready.