The Tioga ISD trustees approved the budget that will start on July 1 at their Monday meeting.
The biggest differences between the 2024-25 actual budget and the proposed budget adopted Monday for 2025-26 is an increase of a little over $100,000 for instruction, bringing the per pupil expenditure to $7,510; around $43,000 more for special education; a little over $25,000 more for co-curricular and extracurricular activities; around $53,000 more in district operations; and a little over $18,000 more in central administration.
'I do not think that's going to be enough to cover raises, what's been mandated to us from House Bill 2,' Superintendent Josh Ballinger said of the jump in instruction costs. 'A lot of different reasons why, but it's a good start—$550,000 on the instruction side, the majority of that will be toward pay raises. We are not adding any positions.'
He also discussed the need to look at the pay scale for teachers with no to two years of experience.
There will be allotment money from the state to help with the cost of raises that was not factored into the proposed budget.
'They don't have the exact template out that's showing you how much you're going to get,' Ballinger said.
Overall, there was a 9.05% increase in the overall planned expenditures from the 2024-25 actual budget of $10,534,304 to $11,487,316.
With that increase factored in, the district is set to have a revenue surplus by the end of the budget year.
Debt service is another area where expenditures are planned to increase, in that case by almost $641,000.
The tax rate that was advertised along with the budget was not yet approved.
'If you say you're going to adopt a high enough tax rate during this meeting … you do not have to come back and have another public hearing in August when you officially get that rate,' Ballinger said.
The proposed rate of $1.2269 per $100 valuation is higher than the rate that will be calculated for the district in August.
The debt service rate will remain at $0.50, based on the May 2024 bond election outcome.
The trustees also heard a review of the End of Course exam scores as well as the overview of the STAAR test results.
During her Conservator Progress Report, Dr. Karen Wiesman said the online payment system that Tioga ISD is transitioning to with the new budget year will help track and control expenditures.
