Week+3+Part+4

The district that I currently work in receives approximately $33.5 million in total revenues. Of the total revenues, 57% are from the state ($19.5 million), 42% are local ($13.9 million), and less than 1% are federal. The revenue is then allocated into several different categories and functions. For instance, approximately $19 million is allocated into function 11 for instruction. Another area that receives a large allocation is under function 51 for district operations, which is $4.3 million. Function 36, Co- curricular/Extracurricular, receives an allocation of approximately $1.3 million. The Chief Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring that all revenue is allocated to cover the district’s projected expenditures. Our WADA for Dayton ISD is currently at 5,456.266. Our top three Tier I allotments are as follows, Special Ed - $1.7 Million, CTE Allotment - $2.1 Million, and Compensatory Allotment - $2.8 Million. We currently are pushing our high school students to become more involved with CTE classes so that we can gain funding in this area. Looking at last year’s Summary of Finances we had a decrease in Tier I funding of over $1 million dollars from the state. We lost finds from our Compensatory and Special Ed funding but did make a significant gain in CTE funding. With our property tax making up only 42% of our district revenue we have to find ways to increase our state revenue and we can do that through our ADA and by placing an emphasis on Career and Tech classes. Our district is in good shape due to the diligence of the central administration and their desire to run a school district that is fiscally responsible. We currently have a fund balance of over $12 million and that is after spending $1 million to balance this year’s budget. We were able to retain all teachers this past summer when a lot of surrounding districts were releasing teachers from their jobs. Will we be able to make those same promises this coming year? It will all depend on the school boards position on riding out the current financial downfall and their willingness to spend from the fund balance to balance the budget. I look for us to have to let some teachers and other staff members go, and that is always a painstaking task. If we do not find a way to fund Texas schools in a way that is fair and equitable for all students we are headed for destruction in education.