Central Texas School Districts helping where they can

The recent $4 billion statewide budget cuts in education over the next two years have raised many eyebrows, including mine. These budget cuts have caused school districts to tighten their spending and change the way daily affairs are handled in an effort to increase revenues and avoid as many layoffs as possible. These are some of the steps taken by local school districts to cope with the cuts for the upcoming school year.

Eanes I.S.D. is one such district. One area in which Eanes I.S.D. plans to enact changes is the school bus system. If the proposed plan takes effect the daily routes would consist of fewer stops, requiring children to walk a little further then they have in years past to catch the bus. This change is estimated to save the school district $50,000. The district also plans to charge parents a little more for school field trips in order to help pay for bus drivers’ salaries.

            Pflugerville I.S.D. is proposing an eight-cent tax increase this year. The district says a tax increase is necessary to offset the decreasing property values and revenue generated from property taxes. The district’s total taxable value has decreased to $460 million since the 2009-2010 school year. In addition to holes left in the budget by reduced state funding, P.I.S.D. also has several outstanding multi-million dollar bonds. The tax increase would compensate for the district’s debt as well as state budget cuts.

           Hays Consolidated I.S.D. has also come up with a plan to help finance the district and fill in gaps left by state budget cuts. The Hays C.I.S.D. will raise the price of school lunches by ten cents this school year, bringing the cost of an elementary student lunch to $2.00 and a junior and high school student lunch to either $2.10 or $2.20. Children who qualify for reduced-price lunch will still be paying 40 cents, and those who qualify for free lunch will continue to receive a meal at no charge.

            The central Texas school districts are doing their part to help save money on programs that could survive with a few changes. The proposed changes will not significantly alter the budgets or operations of any one school district, but the plans set forth are good indicators of the districts’ attempts to avoid teacher layoffs or reducing the quality of education.