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We left our talk about school finance with 
school property taxes.

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Now I know this is not everyone's favorite 
subject...

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...but a community is only as healthy as 
the school district is successful.

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We learned in the first school finance session 
that the current system does not provide 
equal funding per student to Texas school 
districts.

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In addition, it's important to know increased 
property values which cause your school taxes 
to increase...

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...do not lead to an increase in funding 
for the operations of Klein ISD.

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As local property tax collections increase, 
our state funding decreases proportionately.

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The state then has the discretion to appropriate 
the local tax funds into any state budget. 
Not just education.

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And the fixed amount set by the state, which 
is allocated on a per-student basis, has 
not increased in Klein ISD since 2006.

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Imagine trying to run your household with 
the same amount of money per family member 
as you did in 2006.

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With no increase to offset inflation costs 
for food, housing, gasoline, insurance, transportation 
or anything else.

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Klein ISD does receive that fixed amount 
per student for new students to help cover 
the costs of additional teachers and staff 
needed.

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But the increase does not address the inflation 
costs for supplies and services.

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Payroll costs account for 90% of the entire 
school district budget...

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...with teachers and support staff making 
up the largest percentage of the payroll.

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To make matters even worse, school districts 
receive the same transportation allotment 
as they did in 1984.

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So, how can districts secure additional funds 
to support and sustain a high quality educational 
environment?

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Can the district afford to open two new schools 
with the existing revenue structure provided 
by the state?

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The answers to these questions and more in 
the coming weeks.

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For now, I'm Bret Champion and that's Klein 
ISD in 90-ish seconds.

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