Wylie Independent School District trustees met in a workshop Monday, May 21, to review a proposed $136.5 million budget for fiscal year 2018-19 that is scheduled for adoption in June.

The school board also conducted a public review of the budget in its regular session and hired a financial services firm to advise the district on managing and refinancing debt for savings.

The school district property tax rate will not be adopted until August, after values are certified in July by Collin Central Appraisal District.

Because property tax revenue can’t be accurately estimated at this time, WISD Finance Director Michele Trongaard presented the board with three sets of revenue figures based on nine percent, 11 percent and 14 percent growth in property values. Expense figures remain constant.

Trongaard leans toward the most conservative numbers, the nine percent increase in property values, that would generate $70.1 million in tax revenue but that also result in a budget deficit of $740,381.

“This is the first time that we’ve presented a deficit budget,” she said.

Under the 11 percent scenario for property value growth, the WISD budget would be a positive $758,043 and at 14 percent would be a positive $3 million.

Trongaard also pointed out that as property tax revenue increases, state education aid decreases slightly. State aid is $56.8 million under the nine percent property value increase, or about 45 percent of revenue.

The budget director noted that under the nine percent estimate, WISD would generate $5.75 million more in property tax revenue that it did last year, but would lose $4.78 million in state revenue and $83,140 in federal funds.

 

Joe Reavis • [email protected]

 

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