Dear Editor,
Deficit Explained: After reviewing the state funding template, we knew there was going to be a problem this year. We did not go to the taxpayers for a VATRE because we were supposed to get a 2 million dollar tax impact payment in January to fill the gap that suddenly disappeared. We also have a healthy fund balance. We have grown the fund balance to 9.9 million dollars over the last 5 years. With the loss of the formula transition grant Cuero ISD lost 1.6 million dollars in state funding from the end of 23-24 school year to the beginning of 24-25 school year causing a deficit budget. Creating a loss of $1275 per student in attendance. Cuero is down 26 students from last school year to this school year. Which caused us to lose $200,000 more. We are projecting to come in for this school around 2.3 million in deficit. We have already cut around 2.8 million out of the budget for next year. So we will be back in a positive budget for the 2526 school year. We will give state funded pay raises to our teachers and it looks like we will not have to cut as deep and possibly give a small raise to all employees not guaranteed raises from the state.
A glitch in the funding formula: We had personnel from ESC3 and Omar Garcia, the writer of the state budget template, review our funding template and they came to the same conclusion as us, it is a glitch in the formula. Last legislative session, two years ago, they had a patch ready to fix the glitch but it didn't get passed because no funding bills came out from the house or senate. When asked point blank was this mismanagement by the administration? All parties agreed it was not. Every year there are winners and losers when it comes to the state funding formula. The last 4 years CISD won, this year we lost.
