The Tioga ISD trustees got good news on Monday evening: The district will not owe the state money back for overpayment at the end of this fiscal year.
The update resulted from the district administration and the Texas Education Agency-appointed Conservator Dr. Karen Wiesman working with the state to adjust the payments over the course of the school year to reflect an accurate average daily attendance number.
'The majority of it was adjusted on that payment schedule,' Superintendent Josh Ballinger said. 'That's when we dropped a couple hundred thousand dollars the last three payments, and this last payment will be about [$200,000].'
As a result, the district will be able to record a roughly $1 million surplus to continue chipping away at the financial bind it has been working through for about half a decade.
The board also accepted the resignation of trustee James Hurt, who submitted his letter of resignation on June 24.
'This decision has not been made lightly,' he wrote. 'Due to the growth of my business and several projects located outside the state of Texas that require my direct onsite supervision, I am no longer able to dedicate the time and presence necessary to effectively fulfill the responsibilities of a school board trustee.'
He added that he came to the decision 'in the best interest of the district' so his fellow trustees can 'appoint a replacement who can be consistently present and fully engaged in all meetings, training requirements and district activities,' according to the letter.
Hurt also expressed appreciation for the opportunity he had to be part of the board.
'Serving the students, families and taxpayers of Tioga has been a privilege and an honor,' he wrote.
School board President Dallas Slay echoed that sentiment in his comments.
'Shout out to James for stepping in and stepping up when he could, but sometimes life throws you a curveball and things have to change,' he said. 'So, if you are considering applying to be on here, just know that when you do sign up, you are expected to be here, so it does need to be a priority for you.'
Ballinger informed the board members they have 180 days from accepting the resignation to appoint a new trustee and that the spot will be on the next May ballot.
The trustees also voted to increase the meal prices for lunch and breakfast to help cut the deficit created by the food costs.
'It's not a secret of the cost of living and the cost of products,' Ballinger said. 'It was the one area in our budget adoption last month that I said we're being very generous on the revenue stream there.'
Increasing the lunch price for students to $3.75 and breakfast to $1.70 will make an impact, Ballinger said.
Ballinger also explained why the district does not receive the same level of reimbursement as other districts that have a greater number of students who qualify for free and reduced meals.
Fifth-grade teacher Penny Tucker asked about teacher meal prices, which will increase to $5.45 for lunch.
Ballinger said he will work with a representative from Region 10 to assess the pricing.
'I hope this is sufficient,' he said.
The trustees also approved the purchase of an additional 77-passenger International bus and a 15-passenger Transit van and authorized Ballinger to handle the purchase of both.
' As I mentioned last month, in adopting the budget, you've already approved enough for that payment to be made,' Ballinger said.
Also at the meeting, the trustees honored the members of the FCCLA program who represented Tioga at the national level in Washington, D.C.
Recent THS graduates Lacie Gray and Emily Ballinger were present for the recognition.
'We had three teams representing not only our school, but [also] the state in their star events, which is a project-based learning competition,' FCCLA adviser Christi Crowe said.
Gray and Ballinger placed in the Top 10, as did Gabby Cuellar, who took fourth, with Jimmy Hendricks placing 11th in his event.
