Harlingen school district passes $215.3M budget amid enrollment drop

The school district's new $215.3 million budget, described as one of the tightest in years amid soaring costs and dropping student enrollment, is coming amid tax cuts along with $1,100 bonuses to full-time employees and full health insurance coverage.

After months of planning, board members passed the budget with a property tax rate of about 93 cents per $100 valuation, down from about $1.09 last year, Ramon Mendoza, the district's interim chief financial officer, said Wednesday.

In the last five years, a state mandate has led the district to slash taxes by about 38 cents per $100 valuation, Mendoza told board members during Tuesday's special meeting.

Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed over the biggest tax cut in Texas history.

In September, board members are expected to set the district's new tax rate.

While the district's daily student attendance rate dropped from about 15,400 to 14,900, the state continues to pay about $6,160 per student, officials said.

"This has been probably the most difficult year that I have experienced," board President Greg Powers said after a public hearing into the budget.

"It's a problem that's statewide — it's not just here in the Valley or here in Harlingen," he said. "Districts everywhere are experiencing this due to different factors. We're getting the same amount per student for the last several years but everybody knows costs have increased on everything. The cost to educate students has gone way up and we can't be any more efficient than we've been in trying to provide a quality education to our kids in our district."

Meanwhile, federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, or ESSER funds, issued to help districts through the coronavirus pandemic's economic slowdown, are set to expire in September.

"We knew this was going to be one of the toughest years to budget because of ESSER going away," Mendoza told board members. "So it was very, very tough."

As part of the overall $215.3 million budget, the district's general fund stands at $185.3 million, with a surplus of $2.6 million, officials said after the public hearing, noting payroll stood at $161.7 million.

During a presentation, Mendoza said property taxes brought in $50.6 million while state funding came in at $136.2 million, with $24.1 million in federal revenue.

Within the district's overall $215.3 million budget, officials earmarked $103.9 million for instruction, he said.

In the tight budget, board members are giving all full-time employees one-time payments of $1,100, set to go out in December, Marcy Martinez, the district's spokeswoman, said in a press release

As part of the district's new employee compensation plan, officials are starting first year teachers at salaries of $54,000, she said.

"We always prioritize high quality instruction, expansion of opportunities for students and families, student safety and meeting the needs of our employees when considering the budget," Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez said in the press release.

"Our goal for our students and staff is that they are provided with every resource to succeed," he said. "This includes new technology for classroom instruction, innovative academic programs to forge a path to college and career success and professional armed personnel at each campus with our new Guardian program."

Late last year, officials shut down Keys Academy, which for 32 years had helped students at risk of dropping out before graduation.

As part of a new program, at-risk students are taking their educations into the district's campuses, working with counseling teams guiding them through graduation.

"We've had to make really hard choices to get here," board member Dr. Belinda Reininger said after the public hearing, referring to the overall budget.

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