As I have written in the past, I always love back to school time. From the time I was in school all the way up to the present, I truly love this time of the year. Don't get me wrong, I am still glad school is here and I am truly looking forward to the 2017-2018 school year. I can't wait for Friday, which is our big District Convocation. I will have trouble sleeping on Sunday, August 20th, since the first day of school is on that Monday. I loves seeing all of the students enter the school doors and locate their classrooms. I love walking the halls in all of our campuses and hearing teachers and students get to know each other. I love seeing the teachers and students excited about the new school year. These feelings will never go away.
It is a little bittersweet due to the circumstances that our district finds itself in with the Texas Legislature. You may or may not know, but Jarrell ISD lost over $840,000 in state funding for the 2017-2018 school year. In 2005, the Texas Legislature reduced property tax rates. When they did this, they guaranteed school districts would be able to generate the same level of per-student funding as they received in the 2005-2006 school year. This funding was referred to as Additional State Aid for Tax Reduction (ASATR). In 2011, when the state reduced public education funding, the legislature also enacted a repeal of ASATR effective September 1, 2017. The idea was that schools would be gradually eased off ASATR funding, and many schools since 2006 did ease themselves off of ASATR. Jarrell ISD had been an odd ASATR district. Due to our rapid student growth, rapid construction in our district, and rapid property growth values, we have been on a roller coaster with ASATR. We are never sure if or how much ASATR we are going to receive. A few years ago, we were down to only $500,000 in ASATR revenue, and then last year we received over $1 million. This year the budget template shows that we would have received $841,292. As a matter of fact, the top of the state funding template shows the ASATR money that we lost for the 2017-2018 school year.
It is a little bittersweet due to the circumstances that our district finds itself in with the Texas Legislature. You may or may not know, but Jarrell ISD lost over $840,000 in state funding for the 2017-2018 school year. In 2005, the Texas Legislature reduced property tax rates. When they did this, they guaranteed school districts would be able to generate the same level of per-student funding as they received in the 2005-2006 school year. This funding was referred to as Additional State Aid for Tax Reduction (ASATR). In 2011, when the state reduced public education funding, the legislature also enacted a repeal of ASATR effective September 1, 2017. The idea was that schools would be gradually eased off ASATR funding, and many schools since 2006 did ease themselves off of ASATR. Jarrell ISD had been an odd ASATR district. Due to our rapid student growth, rapid construction in our district, and rapid property growth values, we have been on a roller coaster with ASATR. We are never sure if or how much ASATR we are going to receive. A few years ago, we were down to only $500,000 in ASATR revenue, and then last year we received over $1 million. This year the budget template shows that we would have received $841,292. As a matter of fact, the top of the state funding template shows the ASATR money that we lost for the 2017-2018 school year.
For the 2017-2018 budget, we predicted a student growth rate of 6%. Even with the additional income from these new students, we had to trim over $400,000 from the 2016-2017 budget. We had to find ways to cut expenses and still offer our students the best education. This budget year, we have cut eight positions from our district, including teachers, paraprofessionals, and even central administration positions. We are no longer feeding our students who travel out of town on extracurricular trips - and approximately 60% of our students are on free/reduced lunch. Our teachers are not receiving a raise this year, and in fact, all of our staff members will see a cut in overall pay with the increase in health insurance.
This is the bittersweet part. We know we will still provide for our Jarrell ISD students, it is what we strive and love to do. We have great staff members who will keep working hard. it is disappointing that our state legislators have put teachers into this position. I challenge each of you inform yourself about the external factors that affect your child and Jarrell ISD. This 2017 Legislative Session and the current Special Session have been very difficult for educators, and personally, I do not feel that all of our elected representatives want all children to succeed. You need to know what impact the actions of those in Austin have on Jarrell ISD and your child.
There are several parent groups who can keep you informed and also can use help from parents who want their voices heard.
Friends of Texas Public Schools
Pastors for Texas Children
Save Texas Schools
Texas Parent PAC
Texans Advocating Meaningful Student Assessment
We hope that this will be another great year for Jarrell ISD, as we have many wonderful things taking shape. Right now we are planning for the new Elementary School, which is slated to open in August of 2019. This is the first of the projects approved in the May 2017 Bond. We will begin planning the other main projects (JMS Additions and JHS Additions with Auditorium) in the coming months. We are anticipating a health growth of students this year, as predicted by our June 2017 Demographic Report, which can be accessed here.
Like I said, it is a bitter sweet start to the school year, but we are going to keep working to make it the best school year!