On Tuesday night, the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees and administrators came together during the State of the District to discuss funding after Pinkerton Elementary School’s consolidation and rejection of the Voter Approval Tax Ratification Election (VATRE), along with substantial funding gaps.
The Board of Trustees also spoke about its legislative priorities and changes made since their last session along with encouraging involvement of Coppell parents with their children’s education.
CISD chief financial officer Diana Sircar addressed potential budget cuts the rejection of VATRE might bring, along with concerns for the allocation of funds in special education.
In November’s election the Board of Trustees put VATRE on the ballot, which would’ve given CISD $2.4 million in funding. VATRE was rejected by CISD voters.
This rejection has potential to lead to more budget cuts as a next step which would result in a hiring freeze, reduced raises for staff, increased class sizes, transportation changes and the consolidation of more schools.
“The district is allocating less money than what is funded to the district when providing things like special education, transportation and safety and security. This gap in funding for special education was $6.5 million less than what was needed in the 2023-2024 school year alone,” Sircar said.
The transportation sector and safety and security sector are also experiencing funding gaps, with the former being $4.9 million less and the latter $700 thousand less than what they need.
Board member Nicole Bentley discussed legislative priorities and how they have been improved over summer prior to the last sentence.
“For more than three years, we’ve identified teacher and staff retention as one of the top things to spend our allotted funding on,” Bentley said. “People are leaving the profession, and despite the validity of their reasons, this will have a large impact on educational quality across the state.”
Bentley also touched on how the funding of their district is not matching what is asked of them.
“The state is taking more funds from us because of the deficit and even more expenses are being hoisted upon us as a result,” Bentley said.
Coppell mother of five, Becca Bailey, discussed ways that parents can be involved.
“Through each of my roles with the relationships I’ve built, I’ve been able to be a more active partner in my children’s education, feeling more connected to their experiences, campus and teachers and I’m beyond grateful for that,” Bailey said.
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