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Updated Wednesday, July 28, 2010 1:00 AM
DISD struggles with decreases in appraised values
BY JONATHAN CANNON
HERALD DEMOCRAT
The Denison School Board and administration discussed plans for next year's budget Tuesday after the Grayson Central Appraisal District provided them with near-final local tax revenues 10-percent lower than originally estimated.
"To say the least, that's a lot," Assistant Superintendent Lee McNair told the board.
In an early budget, the Denison Independent School District administration estimated its local tax revenues to be near $16.47 million almost $1 million more than the near-final estimates. McNair calculated the estimate based upon the appraisal district's estimated values after reducing them by 4 percent to anticipate appeals. The adjustment is twice the adjustment the district normally uses, but McNair said he used the higher percentage because of the high number of appeals.
To accommodate the decreased values, the administration cut three large items from the preliminary budget reported in the Herald Democrat on Friday. Also, they estimated an additional $50,000 in federal revenue that helped make up the difference.
McNair told the board they had cut a $375,000 expense for wireless networking, a $50,000 expense for new heating and air-conditioning controls at the high school and a $56,000 expense for new interactive whiteboards.
Dr. Henry Scott, the district's superintendent, told the board that the Smith Foundation had expressed interest in helping the district purchase the interactive whiteboards to finish equipping all its classrooms.
Even with the eliminated improvements, the district will face a larger deficit of $495,532 in the 2010-2011 school year. Still McNair spoke optimistically of the budget.
"Normally if we start out with a budget deficit, we end the year where we either don't have a deficit or it's not as large as what the original budget is, because we try to come in under budget on our expenditures," he said. "So, hopefully, that budget deficit will not be what we'll be looking at for the end of the year."
McNair said he didn't have any information about why the values dropped so much. He added he was working to learn more about the possible cause.
In addition, the board considered a proposed tax rate of $1.2712 per $100 valuation, which includes a $1.17 maintenance and operations rate and a $0.1012 debt service rate.
The board set a public hearing for the tax rate and the budget at 6:15 p.m. Aug. 17, immediately before the board's next meeting.
Dr. George Hatfield, assistant superintendent, presented the board with a change to the student code of conduct further defining rules about placing a student who "engages in conduct punishable as a felony." The Texas Education Code requires that a student charged with a Title 5 felony be placed in the District Alternative Education Program.
The new addition says that students will be placed in alternative education for 15 days while an administrator determines if the student poses a risk to his peers or school faculty. The code addition also treats "a felony distribution (drug) charge" the same.
In other business, the board approved:
* the teacher appraisals timeline and list of approved appraisers;
* bids, to the lowest bidder, for charter bus services, instructional supplies and maintenance transportation and custodial supplies;
* renewal of the district's Texoma Council of Governments membership at a cost of $863; and
* an endorsement of Bells School Board President Jeannie Russell for the Texas Association of School Boards' Board of Directors.
 Comments ... 10 found!
: 8/2/2010
Vicious Circle
I agree we need to keep our homegrown, educated workers here. However, it is a shame when these same people try to better themselves they are told by the upper admins. they need to go to the metroplex for jobs and then the jobs here go to someone they know from somewhere else.
Bye Bye
Right Joey : 8/1/2010
Joey, you are right about that. Once your hero obama lets the Bush tax cuts expire, you and everyone else in America will want to go back to the Bush policies! You can all dsicuss it while you are standing in the welfare line!
Donny
Economy : 8/1/2010
Let's recap the Bush years to enlighten Joey. Bush "INHERITED" a recession from Clinton. Recessions come and go so it WASN'T CLINTON'S FAULT. Bush cut taxes, dividends and capital gains. We had 9/11, Iraq and Afgan and our economy grew from late '03 into early '08. The Dow rose to 14,000. Then we had the economic meltdown which was a culmination of many things and both parties were to blame as were individuals in the private sector. Plenty of blame to go around. News flash! Joey will respond that it was all Bush's fault. Wanna bet?
Raised A Democrat
Vicious Circle : 7/29/2010
I tend to agree with you on the Oklahoma residents being hired, but let's examine the cause of that: Taxes in Grayson County are extremely high. Houses seem to be overpriced in Denison and one can find a better deal across the border.
Also, I forgot to note: $375,000 for wireless networking?!?!?!?!? I work on computers and have worked on small business networks. While the school network would be more extensive and require some more sophisticated equipment, than would a small business network. I have to wonder,"Whose pockets are getting lined?" That's a ridiculous cost!!
Denison Native
Perhaps yes : 7/29/2010
What is worse is when Denison "leaders" (both within the school and city) hire people that did not even grow up and graduate in this town. How does that help the Denison economy? There has got to be teachers and professionals that graduate from Denison High School, and are willing to teach in Denison or work in Denison... and live here. They are hiring Oklahoma teachers who spend the Denison tax payers money, IN Oklahoma where they live. Why are we not hiring Denison graduates that have a sense of loyalty to Denison?
Vicious Circle
Whiteboards??? : 7/29/2010
$56,000 for interactive whiteboards.... What ever happened to pencil, paper and a good ole' chalkboard? Put the money into teaching the children instead of buying the newest high-tech gadgets.
Opie
Perhaps : 7/28/2010
The school district should rethink a NEW High School. The old high school served MANY years before it was torn down. The current high school is more than ample for the amount of student it has enrolled. My graduating class was 435, (1975),approximately 200 MORE students than the last graduating class (2010. I'm told (by a credible source) that the school isn't in as bad of shape as people are being led to believe. Fact is... we ALL have to tighten the purse strings in this poor economy. That is to include those who work on the taxpayer's dime.
Bell, California just had a major uprising due to various city leaders getting paid far too much. Denison is a small town with an ever growing elderly population. The fact is, Denison cannot afford to be spending like they want and are. Not always can we, the taxpayer, provide everything our children need, especially when such needs are almost frivolous!!
Perhaps if Denison's city leaders were to attract some large businesses here and regrow it to how it used be, (anybody remember the thriving downtown??), we MIGHT be able to afford things a little more easily. When the median per capita income for Denison is less than $20,000.00, people really NEED to start looking at the BIG picture. Denison has changed since I graduated, changed for the worse. Armstrong is DEAD!! Main St is DEAD!! Eisenhower Parkway is DYING...... Everything seems to be focused around Walmart. Guess what folks, service industry and retail sales jobs aren't going to cut it for this town!!! (Not everybody can be in the medical field, the only SAFE job market in Denison.)
Denison Native
Obamaconomy? : 7/28/2010
I really believe we should go back to the Bush economic policies. There would be a HUGE benefit for all of us.....Donny would be silent.
Joey
Welcome To the Real World : 7/28/2010
Sorry about the cuts DISD, we have all been taking cuts and cutting back in this obamaconomy. Unfortunately, these government (or government funded) institutions think that the cash flow is endless and nothing about a bad economy bothers them - until THEY are affected. Then it's the end of the world. Take great comfort in the fact that your leaders in washington (Rangel, Tim Geithner, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, etc) often "forget" to pay their taxes but life goes on........remember this crap in November and make life better for everyone including yourselves!
Donny
Appraisals down : 7/28/2010
Can you imagine that? Do they think property appraisals should remain the same in Grayson County when the economy here is going down the drain? Of course this jsuts gives them a good excuse to raise taxes. Heaven forbid they want to decrease salaries of administrative officials, or cut spending in other ways. Get real! Everybody is having to make do with less. You aren't any different!
Taxpayer
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