Aldine ISD Trustees Adopt Budget, Set Tax Rate for 2020-21 School Year

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The Aldine ISD Board of Trustees approved the budget and tax rate for the 2020-21 school year.

The Aldine ISD Board of Trustees adopted the budget and set the tax rate for the 2020-21 school year during a special called meeting on Monday, June 29.

The special called meeting was held in the Board Room of the Donaldson Administration Building.

Chief Financial Officer Dr. Tamika Alford-Stephens recommended Trustees adopt a general operating budget of $657,902,917. Projected revenues for the 2020-21 school year is $654,708,937. To balance the general fund budget, the District will use fund balance reserves of $3,193,980.

“We are uncertain about the amount of money we will need to spend next year as we plan to operate under COVID-19, but we must plan to cover additional transportation costs, purchasing personal protective equipment, laptops, Chromebooks, and hotspot devices. It doesn’t matter if students are attending school in person or at home, we need to ensure that we are able to offer them a high-quality learning experience,” said Alford-Stephens. “Families can rest assured that Aldine is meeting every challenge to ensure our staff and students have what they need to teach and learn.”

The 2020-2021 General Fund budget adopted by the Board includes an approximately 1.5% increase above last year’s budget.

The 2020-21 budget adopted by AISD Trustees includes a 1.5% raise for all district employees. The District will maintain its starting teacher salary to $56,000.

Chief Financial Officer Dr. Tamika Alford Stephens, shared that the general operating fund includes monies to assist with social distancing, ordering supplies to cover clearing costs, and purchasing devices that can be loaned out to students.

“In approving the budget, the Aldine ISD School Board has reiterated its support for ensuring excellence in teaching and equity for all students as we continue to fulfill each of our strategic plan priorities regardless of the method in which students receive their instruction,” Superintendent Dr. LaTonya M. Goffney said.

Alford-Stephens stated that the District integrates its strategic plan into decisions about the budget. Every expenditure must align with the strategic plan, which has five priorities — Student Achievement, School Culture, Mission-Driven Leadership, Organizational Efficiency, and Community Engagement and Outreach.

The general operating budget approved by AISD Trustees provides funding for all instructional programs, student activities, and district operations in addition to five priority areas.

Trustees also set the tax rate for the 2020-21 school year at $1.333515 per $100 valuation. The Interest and Sinking rate will be .3025 cents, and the Maintenance and Operation fund will be $1.031015. The 2020-21 tax rate is .0136 cents lower than the 2019-2020 tax rate.

The District will not officially adopt the tax rate until it receives the Certified Property Values from the Harris County Appraisal District in late August.  The adoption of the tax rate will occur during the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees in September.

Aldine ISD Trustees unanimously approved both recommendations.

Proper notification of the special called meeting was posted and advertised in local newspapers.