Robin Hood recapture payments to the state are eating RISD’s lunch.
Austin claimed $32 million of the 2000-01 budget and will get $47 million in the 2001-02 budget.
Trustees and staff have been working diligently on budget cuts for more than a year. Our philosophy is to try to reduce the impact on the classroom as much as possible. That means we’ve looked for ways to trim or outsource administrative and support expenses.
Principals and teachers have contributed ideas about how to reduce expenses, yet still meet their students’ needs. Following are some (but not all) budget cut highlights through the 2001-02 budget.
The Financial Services division reduced its budget $6.5 million by:
- 13.5% staff reduction
- Transferring equipment notes and costs into the bond fund
- Reducing planned textbook acquisitions, field trips and other transportation costs, and travel, warehouse and overtime budgets significantly.
The Management Information Systems division reduced its budget $5.3 million by:
- Transferring RITV operations to Region 10
- Switching to a new Internet Service Provider (ISP)
- Transferring computer maintenance costs to bonds
- Reducing staff by 49% in technology
- $1.7 million in M&O savings in service reductions like food service, supplies, staff and artificial turf. However, these savings are offset by $1.3 million increase in utility expenses.
Central Staffing, HR and Student Services division reduced their budgets $4.5 million by:
- Reducing professional and paraprofessional staff by 32 percent and Literacy Lead and Master Teachers to only those contracted by the 19 requesting principals.
- Closing the planetarium
- Reducing summer school enrichment courses
- Increasing Grant and Title monies for instructional programs. We are up to $5 million in alternative funding.
- Shifting responsibility for priority funds use to the principal’s discretion
- Moving instructional operating budgets to bond where possible
- Move the start of school year back to August 21
Surrounding Chapter 41 school districts are dealing with recapture, too. Plano increased its student/teacher ratio, reduced supplements, restructured the talented/gifted program and took $8 million from fund balance. Carrollton/Farmers Branch cut 59 secondary teachers. RISD is trying to avoid touching fund balance, which is similar to a company’s net worth.
We are not out of the woods yet. We cut $20 million from the 2000-01 budget and project cutting $20 million in 2001-02. In order to balance the budget by 2004, we must cut an additional $10 million in 2002-03 and $6 million in 2003-04.
There is growing acceptance that the Texas system of school finance is unworkable, but until the legislature corrects it, our cuts must continue.
