AISD budget, tax rate to be adopted
By Melinda L. Lucas
During a meeting on Monday, Aug. 14, moved up a week from the regular third Monday time, Albany ISD’s board of trustees set a date for a special meeting to adopt the 2023-2024 budget and tax rate, planning an early morning meeting on Aug. 31, the last day that the budget can be adopted according to state law.
The board also reviewed recently released preliminary STAAR test scores for grades 3-6, with superintendent Jonathan Scott explaining the information, which is detailed in a separate article.
State ratings have not yet been released.
Late Resignations
However, even with budget, tax rates, and test scores on the agenda, the board’s focus was on two late resignations and how administrators were filling in the gaps just days before the school year was due to start.
Donnie Hart, hired last month as head girls basketball coach and to implement a new student broadcasting program, and his wife Lenzi Hart, who was assigned to sixth grade ELA, resigned unexpectedly on Friday.
Superintendent Jonathan Scott said that administrators had been faced with a “nonstop weekend trying to figure out how to fix it.”
On Sunday, using authority given him by the board earlier in the summer, he hired Daivis Gallagher for the elementary opening. Gallagher, wife of NSES principal John Gallagher, is both certified and experienced in that age group and teaching field.
Her employment was unanimously upheld at Monday’s meeting with a motion to offer a one-year probationary contract.
Rather than eliminate the new school broadcasting program, it was decided that Ryder Peacock would return to the classroom to teach two sections, with plans to hire another maintenance person to cover some of his current duties.
Technology director Matthew Howard volunteered to help at games with the technical part of the broadcasting plan.
“I believe that we can put a product out there that will be comparable to what we were already putting in place,” Scott said. “There may be a few bumps, but I think we have a good plan going forward.”
There is no decision yet on who will take over as head girls basketball coach, but Lauren Peacock is absorbing the cross country coaching duties.
Tax Rate Projections
Scott went over budget numbers, which are still being adjusted, for the 2023-2024 year.
The preliminary budget is based on the new “maximum compressed rate” of 68.80 cents with the “five golden pennies” added that the state allows with no election for a total tax rate of 73.80 cents. The numbers are much lower than last year’s total tax rate of 94.41 cents as a result of the state’s property tax relief package.
According to the Texas Education Agency, rate compression does not give districts additional funding, but merely redistributes the obligation for public school funding to fall more heavily on the state rather than local taxpayers.
FIRST Rating
Scott presented the preliminary findings of the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), which is the financial data submitted to the state for the 2022-2023 year.
AISD received an “A” (superior) achievement rating, with a score of 100.
Other Business
•The board reluctantly accepted a $199,943 proposal for property and casualty insurance from the Public Educators Association of Texas, with the bottom line amount about $68,731 more than last year.
