2021-2022 Coppell ISD Budget Hub
Overview
-
Coppell ISD is committed to transparency and strives to provide our taxpayers with clear and relevant financial information. This site is continually evolving to include additional reports, visuals and pertinent information.
On August 24, 2020, the CISD Board of Trustees approved the district’s 2020-2021 budget with a $7 million deficit. Details on this budget are available at www.coppellisd.com/budget. Previous CISD budgets with deficits have been around $2 to $3 million, which typically is made up over the year due to not having 100 percent full-time employment at all times and departments not spending all of their allocated budgets. CISD has used our fund balance to cover budget deficits over the past few years. However, the district cannot continue to run with a budget shortfall of this size. CISD is embarking on a two-year process to reduce our deficit level.
- Factors contributing to the current adopted budget deficit include
- Declining growth of revenue for CISD due to House Bill 3
- Slowing growth of enrollment
- Implementation of Full Day PreK with only 50% funding from the state (unfunded mandate)
- Increased compensation for teachers, veteran teachers, staff (also requirement of HB 3)
- Increase in additional full-time employees
- Opening of CHS9 (FY2019) and Canyon Ranch (FY2020) and the hiring of teachers and staff for these new campuses
- Switch to new vendor for bus transportation causing transportation costs to dramatically increase
- Increased funding requirements for CTE from state
- Growth of Special Education enrollment and expenditures
- Budgeted $500,000 for COVID-19 related expenses
- Increase in safety costs with the City of Coppell no longer fully funding School Resources Officers and the CISD funding 100 percent the School Resource Deputies for our schools outside the City of Coppell
- The City of Coppell also only pays for 50 percent of the crossing guards used in Coppell
When passing the budget in August, CISD Trustees asked that the district begin the Budget Workshop processes earlier so conversations could begin to address the budget deficit. Therefore, throughout the next few months, CISD will seek input and feedback from our staff and families regarding solutions to the deficit.
Give Input:
Email input@coppellisd.com
Address Board of Trustees during Open Forum at Regular Board Meetings or Board Workshops
Future Workshop Calendar
-
Open Forum is available for the public at Board Meetings and Board Workshops at the beginning of the meetings. Open Forum Information cards are available prior to each meeting.
The 2021-2022 Budget/Tax Rate will be adopted by the Board of Trustees on August 23, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. during the Regular Board Meeting. Public Hearing on the 2021-2022 Budget/Tax Rate will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Augsut 23, 2021.
Monday, January 25, 2021 - Board Budget Workshop at 5:30 p.m.
Monday, March 1, 2021 - Board Budget Workshop at 5:30 p.m.
Monday, April 12, 2021 - Board Budget Workshop at 5:30 p.m.
Monday, May 10, 2021 - Board Budget Workshop at 5:30 p.m.
Monday, June 7, 2021 - Board Budget Workshop at 5:30 p.m.
Monday, August 2, 2021 - Board Budget Workshop at 5:30 p.m.
Monday, August 23, 2021 - Budget/Tax Rate Public Hearing at 5:30 p.m.
Monday, August 23, 2021 - Regular Board Meeting to Adopt Budget/Tax Rate at 6:00 p.m.
Superintendent Messages
-
Thursday, Dec. 18
Dear CISD Family,
As I shared in my Informed column last week, CISD is embarking on a two-year process to reduce our more than $7 million deficit level. Today, I want to share our 2021-2022 Coppell ISD Budget Hub website with you at www.coppellisd.com/budgethub. This site contains details on our budget process, a frequently asked questions document and more information.
We are in the very early stages of the budget reduction process. One of the first steps in this process was our Budget Workshop on December 7. During that workshop, several ideas to reduce the budget deficit and generate additional revenue were shared with our Board of Trustees. These suggestions were possible solutions to address our deficit. None of these proposals are final, and no decisions have yet been made.
We are analyzing all of our programs for efficiency and ways to reduce our operating costs. I assure you that we are committed to transparency throughout this process, and we strive to provide our taxpayers with clear and relevant financial information. There will be several opportunities in the near future for input on our budget process, including surveys, virtual forums and more, so that our employees, parents and guardians, students and the community can share their feedback with us. As always, you can email input@coppellisd.com with your feedback.
While our budget and the budget deficit will be discussed at forthcoming monthly Board Meetings and specific Budget Workshops in the next few months, our Board of Trustees will not vote to adopt the final budget for the 2021-2022 school year until Monday, August 23, 2021.
One of the most frequent questions I have received is how did we get here? We all have or will encounter circumstances in our lives when we have financial needs that must be met, and we do not have the funds available to cover them at that time. This is what occurred at CISD. So we must use our savings, or in the instance of CISD our fund balance, to cover these needs.
Previous CISD budgets with deficits have been around $2 to $3 million, which typically is made up over the year due to not having 100 percent full-time employment at all times and departments not spending all of their allocated budgets. However, we must recognize that we cannot continue to spend more than our revenue and cannot continue to use our fund balance to cover these costs, so reductions in spending must be made at some point. For CISD, that point begins now.
As I shared last week, there is a combination of factors, including several outside the district’s control, which have contributed to the current budget deficit. These include:- Declining growth of revenue due to House Bill 3, which was passed by the Texas Legislature in 2019.
- Increased compensation for teachers and veteran teachers, which is also a requirement of House Bill 3.
- Implementation of the required full-day Pre-K with only 50% funding from the state, also a requirement of HB 3.
- The opening of CHS9 and Canyon Ranch Elementary and the teachers and staff required for these new campuses.
- Slowing growth of student enrollment and projected student enrollment, some of which is because of COVID-19.
- Growth of Special Education enrollment and expenditures.
- COVID-19 expenses, including personal protection equipment, social distancing supplies and additional safety features not provided by the state.
- Increased safety costs with the City of Coppell no longer funding School Resource Officers at 100% with funding now at 50%. The City of Coppell also only pays for only 50% of the costs of our Crossing Guards. CISD funds 100% of the costs of School Resource Deputies for our schools outside of the City of Coppell.
As a reminder, CISD has two sources of revenue — Maintenance and Operations used for the daily operations of the district, and Debt Services (Interesting and Sinking) used to pay for the district’s voter-approved bonds, which includes technology and facilities. Our deficit is in the Maintenance and Operations portion of our budget, of which 81% goes to salaries. We cannot use the Debt Services (Interesting and Sinking) funds to cover Maintenance and Operations.
This is a tough process for our district. We don’t know what the 2021 Legislative Session will bring in terms of our state funding. What we do know is that we at CISD must take the steps necessary to balance our budget now, so we can ensure that we have a healthy fund balance to meet our needs or possibly deal with potential upcoming state funding shortfalls.
I recognize the timing for all of these discussions is terrible. I wish we didn’t have to deal with this problem right now, especially in light of how COVID-19 is affecting us all. I do believe, like all the challenges we have faced before and may face in the future, that CISD will come through this better and stronger, because we will do what we always do — come together to tackle this issue as a CISD family.
Thank you for your support throughout this challenging process.
Sincerely,
Dr. Brad Hunt -
Thursday, Dec. 10
Dear CISD Families,
Throughout this year, I have seen us come together as a CISD family to tackle the problems that the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown our way while continuing to deliver the exceptional education experience for which we are known. It has furthered my belief that we are stronger together, and there is nothing in this district that we cannot handle as a team.
Now we have another challenge to come together to overcome — a budget deficit. When our Board of Trustees passed this year’s budget in late August, it was with a more than $7 million deficit. CISD budgets have been passed with $2 to $3 million deficits for the past few years. CISD has used our fund balance to cover these budget deficits. However, the district cannot continue to run with a budget shortfall of this size and are taking the necessary steps to balance our budget.
Factors contributing to the current adopted budget deficit include declining growth of revenue due to House Bill 3, slowing growth of student enrollment, implementation of the required full day Pre-K with only 50% funding from the state, opening of CHS9 and Canyon Ranch Elementary and the staff required, growth of Special Education enrollment and expenditures, COVID-19 expenses, increased safety costs with the City of Coppell no longer funding School Resource Officers at 100 percent and the district funding the full cost of School Resource Deputies for our schools outside of the City of Coppell and increased compensation for teachers and veteran teachers, which also a requirement of HB 3.
CISD is embarking on a two-year process to reduce our deficit level. We had our first Budget Workshop on this topic on Monday, Dec. 7. I encourage you to use the links to view a video of the workshop and access the presentation. More workshops and opportunities for feedback are set for the future. As always, you can email input@coppellisd.com with your questions and feedback.
Though I know this will be a tough process for our district, I know that by using our core values as our guide and keeping children first in our decisions, we will come through this stronger, together. I thank you for your continued support of CISD.
Sincerely,
Dr. Brad Hunt
FAQ
-
Why is there a budget deficit?
On August 24, 2020, the CISD Board of Trustees approved the district’s 2020-2021 budget with a $7 million deficit. Details on this budget are available at www.coppellisd.com/budget. CISD cannot continue to run with a budget shortfall of this size. CISD is embarking on a two-year process to reduce our deficit level.
Factors contributing to the current adopted budget deficit include- Declining growth of revenue for CISD due to House Bill 3
- Slowing growth of enrollment
- Implementation of full-day PreK with only 50% funding from the state (unfunded mandate)
- Increased compensation for teachers, veteran teachers, staff (also requirement of HB 3)
- Increase in additional full-time employees
- Opening of CHS9 (FY2019) and Canyon Ranch (FY2020) and the hiring of teachers and staff for these new campuses
- Switch to new vendor for bus transportation causing transportation costs to dramatically increase
- Increased funding requirements for CTE from state
- Growth of Special Education enrollment and expenditures
- Budgeted $500,000 for COVID-19 related expenses
- Increase in safety costs with the City of Coppell no longer fully funding School Resources Officers and the CISD funding 100 percent the School Resource Deputies for our schools outside the City of Coppell
- The City of Coppell also only pays for 50 percent of the crossing guards used in Coppell
-
Why did the Board adopt a deficit budget?
CISD typically submits and the Board of Trustees adopt budgets with deficits around $2 to $3 million, which usually is made up over the year due to not having 100 percent full-time employment at all times and departments not spending all of their allocated budgets. CISD has used our fund balance to cover budget deficits over the past few years.
CISD Administration presented a deficit of more than $7 million to the Board in August 2020, because of the expenses that needed to be covered at that time. The district’s fund balance is used to cover the deficit. When adopting the budget, CISD Trustees asked for the budget process to begin earlier so there could be opportunities to address the deficit. However, we must recognize that we cannot continue to spend more than our revenue and use our fund balance, so cuts to spending must be made at some point. For CISD, that point begins now. -
Why is CISD discussing cutting the budget now?
When passing the budget in August, CISD Trustees asked that the district begin the Budget Workshop processes earlier so conversations could begin to address the budget deficit. On December 7, CISD hosted a Board Workshop focusing on our budget and specifically our $7 million deficit. You can watch an archive at go.coppellisd.com/BoardMeetingLiveVideo.
-
There were several proposed options discussed at the December 7 Board Workshop, have these already been decided? When will budget cuts be decided?
No decisions have been made. We are at the very beginning of discussions at this time. The district’s budget and the budget deficit will be discussed at forthcoming monthly Board Meetings and specific Budget Workshops in the next few months, our Board of Trustees will not vote to adopt the budget until Monday, August 23, 2021. The schedule of Budget Board Workshops is available at www.coppellisd.com/budgethub.
-
Is CISD laying off current employees?
CISD is committed to taking care of current employees. Scenarios discussed at the Board Workshop are restructuring positions and programs, not laying off current employees. However, some employees may not be in their current position in the future. The ultimate goal is that all current employees would have the opportunity to fill a similar position within the district.
The district cannot lay off employees without the Board of Trustees approving a Reduction in Force. -
Why is CISD discussing eliminating some positions?
Excluding recapture, 81% of the district’s budget is spent on salaries and benefits for full-time employees. Attrition (not replacing employees if/when they leave) also will help in reducing full-time employees’ costs.
-
Why is CISD discussing eliminating or cuts to programs and/or closing a school?
At the December 7 Board Workshop, several ideas to cut the budget were shared with our Board of Trustees. These suggestions were possible solutions to address our deficit. None of these proposals are final, and no decisions have yet been made.
Programs proposed for possible cuts were based on rightsizing services based on enrollment (GT enrollment reduced by 35 percent over the past five years), cost per student (IB program) or overall cost to provide education (New Tech High @ Coppell). These are only possible scenarios, and the CISD Board of Trustees asked the district for additional suggestions on cutting the budget. -
What about reducing costs to Administration?
CISD is evaluating cuts to administrative areas. All departments are being asked to cut 10 percent of their budget expenses, not including employees.
-
Is the district discussing other budget solutions aside from cuts?
Yes. As shared at the December 7 Budget Workshop, CISD is investigating:
- Expanding Open Enrollment (K-12 within City of Coppell)
- Investigating a Virtual School
- Accepting tuition-based PreK students
- Implementing virtual payment platform for accounts payable
- Investigating employee daycare center
- Investigating district run after school program
- Evaluating Bus Pay to Ride/Pay to Play (Athletics and Fine Arts) fees
- Increasing advertising on district assets
- Increasing grant applications
- Tax Ratification Election
-
Why is there a budget deficit when the district has built new facilities, purchased new technology, security equipment, etc.?
CISD has two sources of revenue — Maintenance and Operations used for the daily operations of the district, including employee salaries, and Debt Services (Interest and Sinking) used to pay for the district’s voter-approved bonds, which includes technology and facilities. Our deficit is in the Maintenance and Operations portion of our budget. We cannot use the Debt Services (Interest and Sinking) funds to cover Maintenance and Operations.
-
What is the CISD budget planning process?
The development of the budget is a year-long process that includes the development of the individual campus and department budgets. Additions of positions or of expenditures are submitted via Additional Funding Requests which are evaluated carefully by the executive leadership team. The district’s budget process includes public board workshops where details of the budget are discussed numerous times prior to the adoption of the budget.
This year, CISD has started those discussions earlier to address the $7 million deficit.
All budget workshop and budget adoption presentations are available on the Financial Transparency webpage at www.coppellisd.com/budget along with historically adopted budgets, School FIRST reports, annual independent audit reports, monthly financial reports, and other financial information.
The budget is adopted by the function code. Any amendments to the budget are presented and approved by the board at monthly board meetings.
The district submits its adopted/amended budget and final audited results to the Texas Education Agency on a yearly basis. The comparison of the budget versus actual results is a measure of the School FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas) accountability system. The district is evaluated by the School FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas) financial accountability system each year. Coppell ISD has received the highest rating every year since the School FIRST accountability system was put in place in 1999.
The district’s financial software system has blocks to keep a user from overspending the budget for their department. The business office evaluates all purchases to ensure that they comply with all federal and state purchasing regulations. -
Didn’t House Bill 3 provide more funding for school districts?
House Bill 3 passed in 2019 changed the school funding formula in the summer of 2019, which changed the projected budgets. The district is adapting future budgets to the updated funding formula and is preparing for any effects of the economic downturn in the near future budgets, but also looking to ensure that the budget can support the long-term strategic direction of the district.