It is that time of year that the State of Texas and the Federal Government determine how well we are educating the children that are in the halls of our schools. I believe the administrators, teachers, staff, and everybody that comes in contact with our children have been an important part of how well our students will be doing on this year’s TAKS test. There have been meetings, benchmark testing, tutorial sessions, teacher-parent conferences, and other things going on to help our students be prepared for this year’s testing. While some has already taken place, the biggest part of testing is coming up the last week of April. I have publicly stated that I believe we have the ability to do well enough on the TAKS Test to be a Recognized School District as determined by the TEA. This is an important step in becoming the premier district in northeast Texas.

I would like to add that there is more to providing a quality education than simply scores on the TAKS Test. CISD is doing everything possible do give our students a well balanced education in regards to learning the curriculum that TEA requires us to teach while helping our students become  quality citizens that will one day be the leaders of our communities.  We have had a successful school year in many areas with students achieving more inside and outside the classroom. I ask that you visit the news archive at the CISD Web Site to see what an outstanding year has taken place. It is important to say that we still have six weeks left in the school year and this time will provide many more opportunities for our students to have successes and achievements that will help set themselves and CISD apart from other students, athletes, and districts.

An important part of the ability to give our students the best education and programs possible is the ability to generate as many funds as possible to have the finest teachers, facilities, and materials we can provide. CISD is doing everything possible to do our part in reaching the Exemplary Expectations that has been set before us. However, due to the inequity in the current finance system that CISD and the 1024 other independent school districts in the State of Texas operate under; it is becoming tougher to balance budgets.  During the 2010-2011 school year, over half of the school districts will operate on a deficit budget. This number will continue to grow until the Texas Legislature changes the way it finances education. Until that time comes, our district is doing everything possible to trim budgets and make the most our finances, while not affecting the education and programs of CISD.

You will be hearing over the next several weeks about the financial situation of CISD. While we are in better shape than some districts, we will be joining over half of the school districts in our state if options are not provided for CISD to help temporarily keep us in a sound financial condition. Why are finances such a major problem in Texas schools?  It was best said by Dr. Jerome Stewart of Canton ISD:

When the Texas Legislature meets again it will have three large, financial holes to fill.

The first financial hole is directly related to the economy. Referring to the next biennium, “Legislative Budget Board director John O’Brien said recently that absent a brisk recovery, lawmakers next year will face a $10.8 billion deficit, even without any new spending,” (Dallas Morning News, February 4, 2010).

The second financial hole is a result of the Legislature’s property tax rate reduction action taken in 2006. The Legislature reduced property tax rates by one third, but it did not fully replace the lost revenue. The Center for Public Policy Priorities has written,

“While the state increased other tax revenue to offset the cost, the state never anticipated covering more than 60 percent of the cost, and it ended up covering less than 40 percent. The ‘hole’ or uncovered cost is now almost $10 billion per biennium,” (June 2009).

To further illustrate the problem created by underfunding the property tax rate reduction, the following was written in The Dallas Morning News (February 17, 2010),

Every two years, the property tax cuts cost about $15 billion. That’s $9.5 billion more than the state takes in through an expanded business tax and increased tobacco taxes, the biggest parts of a ‘tax swap’ that was orchestrated in 2006.

The third financial hole involves the use of federal stimulus money. $3.2 billion of federal stimulus money was budgeted and is being used in this current biennium. There are no guarantees that federal stimulus dollars will be available to Texas the next biennium.

Those are three, large financial holes that our Legislature will face when it returns to business in January 2011.

What does it mean for the Legislature? It means that it has a formidable task.

What does all of this mean for Commerce ISD?

First, it means that even if the Legislature wanted to address the issues of equity and adequacy in public school funding it probably will not have the funds to do so.

Second, it points to lean times and tough choices during the next biennium.

It is not the best financial picture, but it is important for everybody to be aware of the possible financial future that Commerce ISD is facing.