TISD budget contingent on state Legislature

Texarkana Independent School District has budget options ready for whatever the Texas Legislature does in the six weeks before it adjourns, the district's Board of Trustees heard Tuesday.

The board got its first official look at a pair of budget contingencies during a regular monthly meeting at the district's administrative offices. One accords with current law and would result in a deficit. The other assumes the legislature will pass House Bill 3, a public school funding measure, and would result in a surplus.

Under current law, the district's revenue for 2019-2020 would be $63.9 million and its expenses $66 million, resulting in a $2 million deficit, Anita Clay, the district's executive director of business operations, told the board.

The Texas House of Representatives has passed HB3, and if the Senate follows, the numbers will be quite different. Revenues would leap to $71.4 million with expenses remaining at $66 million, resulting in a $7.4 million surplus.

The budget is preliminary, containing "everything but the kitchen sink," Clay said, adding that staff is "whittling it down as we speak" to eliminate the potential deficit.

Any surplus could go toward pay raises for teachers, Superintendent Paul Norton said.

The Legislature adjourns its regular session May 27, and the district will have until its June 25 meeting to pass a final budget.

The board also unanimously approved a monthly financial report and expenditures, and Melodie White, principal of Theron Jones Early Literacy Center, delivered a presentation on recent events at that campus.

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