001I'd like to call this meeting to order. It is 6 pm and declare that we do have a board core present. The mission of Brazesport ISD is to graduate each student to be future ready. If you will please stand. I will lead our invocation and then our pledges of allegiance will be led by Mr. Chris. You would bow. Father God, we thank you for each and every day. God, we thank you for the privilege of being able to come and be a part of this community and to serve, God, as servant leaders in this way uh for our school district and for our employees, for our kids, and for our community. Father, I pray that you would just give us wisdom uh as we every time we meet, Father, that we would make uh the
002best and uh most informed decisions, Father, for all involved. God, help us just toh bring honor and glory to you. Thank you most of all for your son. In his precious name we pray. Amen. >> To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> I aliance to thee to Texas. One state under God. one and indivisible. >> All right, have a seat. >> Next item that we have on our agenda is our budget workshop. This is a workshop, so no related action will be taken on it this evening. At this time, I would like to turn our attention over to Miss uh Ludy Canino, who is going to do her best, although she's losing her
003voice. Good evening. Today we are walking through our 2026 27 budget workshop focused on building capacity and optimizing utilization. This is matching our buildings to our student population and resources with the reality of our district today and where we are headed. Before we move into the discussion of building capacity and utilization ratios, I would like to review the projected 202627 budget outlook. This context is important because it helps explain why we're examining facility utilization so closely. Based on current attendance trends, our projected ADA for next fiscal year has been revised downwards from initial projection of 9,83 to 9,66. In addition, we're expecting a decrease of approximately $1.5 million in chapter 313 payments. As a result, total projected revenue revenues are estimated at 121.9 million dollars while projected expenditures are significantly higher at 134.3 million. Uh
004this creates a projected budget deficit of approximately 12.3 million. This financial reality is a key driver behind the need to evaluate how efficiently we are using our facilities and resources moving forward. Now, let's take a look at our enrollment trends and what is driving the changes we're seeing across the district. First, we're seeing fewer students in our community overall and that decline is happening evenly. Some feeder patterns are holding steady while others especially free port are driving much of them off. We are also seeing that the decline has picked up in recent years particularly after excuse me co that is when the drop became more noticeable and has continued since then. There are a few factors contributing to this. Hurricanes have impacted parts of our community and some families have relocated as a result. We
005are also seeing limited growth from industry partners with fewer local job opportunities. Some families are choosing to move to areas where there is more consistent work. Housing is another key factor. We're not seeing the same level of new single family home development as neighboring areas. If you look at the bar graph at the bottom of the slide, you will notice that Lake Jackson, Clue, and Freeport are not represented. That tells us we are not bringing in new families at the same rate they are to be. With that growth, we're not able to offset the students we're losing. On top of that, attendance is also declining. Even more, even among the students, we We do have fewer are attending consistently and that directly impacts our funding. And finally, it is important to remember that our district
006was built for a larger student population. Today, we simply have more space than we need, which creates inefficiencies in how we operate. When you put all that all this together, it helps explain the downward trend you see on the graph and why it is so important that we begin aligning our facilities with the enrollment we have today. Overall, enrollment is down more than 1,700 students, which is about a 14% decrease from our peak. At the same time, ADA is declining even faster than enrollment. And that matters because ADA is what drives our funding. Since 2014, we have lost about 1,874 ADA, which is average daily attendance, which represents a significant loss in revenue for the district. Historically, our attendance rates were around 92 to 93%. Today, we are seeing rates closer to 88.8 to 90%.
007Since co attendance has not fully returned to previous levels and that continues to impact funding. If you look at the graph you will see two lines. One shows enrollment that is the one on top on blue and the other shows ADA orange. The shaded area between them represents the funding gap caused by declining attendance. So even as enrollment goes goes down, ADA is dropping faster, which means we're losing funding at an even greater rate. This puts additional financial pressure on the district and highlights the need to better align our resources, staffing, and facilities with the number of students we're serving today. Looking ahead, projections show enrollment dropping below 10,000 students by year 203031. We're also expecting to lose about 890 students in ADA. That translates to an estimated $ 8.2 million loss over the next
008five years or about $1.6 million per year. This is not a temporary issue. It is a structural shift and it has and it is something we need to respond to. When we compare enrollment to staffing, we see a clear mismatch. Enrollment is down about 12.7% while staffing has increased by about 16%. In other words, staffing has not adjusted with declining enrollment and we now have more staff per student that we can sustain long term. Excuse me. This slide shows that trend over time as enrollment has declined. Staffing has actually increased. You will also notice where this line cross these lines cross which aligns with the COVID period. During that time, the district received ESRE funds which allowed us to staff to support students academically and socially as they recovered from learning disruptions. Those supports were
009important and had a positive impact. However, those funds have now expired. We are now facing what is often called the ESR funding cliff where the temporary funding is gone but many of the costs remain. As a result, we know we now have higher staffing levels relative to enrollment which increases the cost per student and contributes to our overall current financial imbalance. This is why it is critical that we begin aligning staffing levels with enrollments moving forward. Next, uh, I want to walk through our campus capacity and how well we utilize our buildings. First, let me clarify what we mean by functional capacity. This takes functional capacity takes into account as ISIS, program needs, and specialized spaces. So, it gives us a more realistic picture of how campuses are actually used. In general, the optimal range
010is between 85 to 95%. Right now, our districtwide utilization is about 69%, which is well below that range. As you can see on the slide, 12 campuses are below 80% utilization. Three are between 80 and 85% and only one campus falls within the optimal level. So overall, many of our buildings are underutilized. Simply put, we have more space than we need for the number of students we are serving today. That creates inefficiency because we are still staffing, maintaining, and operating facilities that are not fully used. This is really the core of the issue and why we're having this conversation. If we can better match our buildings to our student population, we can use our resources more efficiently while still supporting strong programs for our students. At this point, the data is clear. We have excess
011capacity across the district and we are operating well below the optimal utilization rate range of 85 to 95%. And this is just it excuse me and this is not just a facilities issue. It affects our efficiency, our finances and ultimately the opportunities we can provide for our students. Right now, we're spreading our resources, our staff, and our students across more campuses than we can sustain long term. So, the question becomes, what do we do next? How do we better align our facilities, staffing, and resources with the number of students we serve today while maintaining strong programs and supporting our community? That is what we will focus on next. So how do we solve this? The most effective path forward is campus consolidation and alignment. This is about bringing our campus capacity in line with our
012current and projected enrollment. So our system reflects the district we are today, not the one we were in the past. By doing this, we can move closer to that optimal utilization range of 85 to 95%. while helping us operate more efficiently while still maintaining flexibility for programs students. It also reduces duplication in staffing and programs and cur that currently exists across underutilized campuses and most importantly it allows us to redirect resources back to the classroom. This table gives us a closer look at enrollment trends within each feeder pattern over time. Starting at the top with Freeport, you can see a lot of fluctuation from year to year along with an overall downward trend. Even with a few temporary increases, the pattern is inconsistent and trending down, which matches what we saw in the earlier charts.
013In the middle, fluid is more is much more stable. Enrollment stays fairly consistent across campuses with only small changes yeartoear. It continues to be steady contributor to the district. At the bottom, Lake Jackson is also stable. Although we are starting to see some softening in the most recent years, if you look across the total row, the overall district trend is clearly downward even with vocational short-term increases. Another important point is that these patterns are consistent across multiple campuses within each theater area. This is not isolated to one school. It reflects a broader community trend. Now, this graph shows the same information, but in a way that makes the trends easier to see. What you can quickly notice is how different the feeder patterns are moving over time. Freeport shows the most movement and overall decline,
014and that's in the blue line at the bottom. included Lake Jackson are much more stable with only gradual changes. Seeing in this way helps us understand not just an enrollment is declining but where the changes coming from and how consistent those patterns are over time. This gives us a clear picture as we think about planning and next steps. This slide shows utilization rates by campus and feeder pattern. Starting with Freeport, overall utilization is about 77% while still below the optimal range. It is the highest among the three areas. It is also important to note that Freeport despite having the most enrollment decline has the strongest utilization. That is because we have already taken action there including closing the Lasco and SFA elementaryaries which help bring capacity more in line with enrollment. Clue is at about
01573%. Even though enrollment has been more stable, capacity has not been adjusted in the same way. So utilization remains lower. Lake Jack Lake Jackson is the lowest at 70% with several campuses well below optimal levels across all areas. The pattern is consistent. We are underutilized across the district and no feeder pattern is currently within the optimal range of 85 to 95%. To address this, we have developed several consolidation scenarios. One example is combining Brass Success Academy and Lighthouse Learning Center, which would generate about $350,000 in savings. Larger adjustments uh especially in the late checks and feeder pattern could generate approximately $1.8 8 million while still maintaining strong academic programs and balancing enrollment. This slide outlines three potential campus consolidation scenarios and what this could look like across the district. Each of these scenarios is designed
016to better match our campus capacity with enrollment while improving long-term sustainability. Starting on the left with Lake Jackson, Lake Jackson, this would be a year one reconfiguration. Rasco Middle School would close and students would be reassigned to existing campuses. Fifth grade students would remain at their home campuses for one additional year while six sixth grade students would move to Lake Jackson intermediate. Robert and Bo would serve prek through fifth grade and Brandon would serve kindergarten through fifth grade. This approach allows for a smoother transition while making better use of available space. In the center, clude would continue to be monitored with potential resing. In this scenario, Poke Elementary would close. Students would be reassigned to Griffin and all with all continuing to support the bilingual program. On the right in Freeport, this would involve reconfiguration
017as well. Laneir Middle School would close. students would be reorganized so that Freeboard Elementary serves prek kinder through fourth grade and pre-port intermediate serves fifth through 8th grade across all areas. The approach is consistent. We are reducing underutilized campuses, consolidating students and using our resources more efficiently. Focusing on late Jackson in year one, the most important point is that there are no changes to attendance zones. Students remain in their current boundaries. What changes is simply how we organize grade levels within those schools. This allows us to make better use of space while keeping campuses within capacity and avoiding overcrowding. Just as important, this approach maintains stability for families and staff. And to be clear, no one will lose their job as a result of this plan. This is about realigning resources, not reducing our workforce.
018The goal here is to improve efficiency while keeping disruption as low as possible. This slide shows projected projected class sizes across Roberts, Brandon, and Boil after the proposed changes. What's important to notice is that all three campuses remain very consistent in terms in terms of ice. Brower averages about 20 students per class. Boil is also around 20 students per class and Brandon is slightly higher at 21 to 22 students per class. These are all well within acceptable and effective class size ranges. This tells us that even after consolidation and grade level adjustments, we are not creating overcrowded accessories. So why start with Lake Jackson or year one? Lake Jackson provides the strongest starting point for year one. First the capacity is already there. Roberts, Brandon and Bole can each accommodate an additional grade level and
019lake Jackson and intermediate has room to add sixth grade. Second, this approach minimizes disruption. fourth grade students stay on their campus one more year and eliminates one transition for a group of students. All of this can be done without reszoning. And finally, there is a clear operational and financial benefit. It makes better use of our existing space, reduces underutilization, and is estimated to generate about 1.8 million in annual saving. Overall, this is a practical first step that improves efficiency while keeping disruption low. This slide shows an impact of cons consolidation on utilization. On the left is where we are today about 69% with many campuses well below the optimal range. On the right is what it looks like after consolidation. Districtwide utilization increases to about 77% which is a meaningful improvement. You can also see
020more campuses moving closer to the optimal range and fewer that are significantly underutilized. In other words, we are making better use of the space we already have without adding new facilities. While we're still well, we're not fully within the 85 95% range yet. This is the strongest step in the right direction. It is also important to recognize that we have already taken meaningful steps to reduce costs. Since 2025, the district has reduced more than $3.6 million in non-eing positions across multiple departments. These reductions were focused on operational and administrative areas to minimize impact on the classroom. This shows that many of the typical areas for cost savings have already been addressed. This slide compares our administrative cost ratio to other districts in the region. Rasport ISD administrative cost ratio is about 7.7%. Which places us
021right in the middle of our period. We are lower than many districts of similar or smaller size and only slightly higher than much larger districts that benefit from economies of scale. What this tells us is that administrative costs are not the main driver of our financial as we continue working through the 2627 budget development process. We are identifying additional areas for cost reduction. So far, we have made several adjustments. We are seeing savings from reduced property insurance premiums of about $810,000 along with approximately $400,000 from state comp adjustments. We're also proposing changes to dual credit and advanced treatment support which together would have would save aboutund about $90,000. A travel moratorum limiting travel to require trainings only is expected to save at least $250,000. In addition, reclassifying software licenses is projected to generate nearly $1
022million in savings. The closure of SFA has resulted in about $400,000 in operational saving along with staffing reductions totaling approximately $2.3 million. Altogether, these reductions total of $6.1 million. Staffing adjustments will continue to be evaluated and align with enrollment trends. We will keep aligning staffing, enrollment, reviewing budgets and minimizing impact to classroom instruction while improving efficiency. So now taking all the information we've gone through and the cost savings we've identified, here's our budget summary after the reduction. We are projecting about $121 million in revenue compared to approximately $126.1 million in expenditures. That leaves a remaining deficit of $4.1 million compared to the $2.3 million where we started off. So while we have made meaningful progress, we are not fully balanced. Looking at fund balance, our unassigned fund balance is projected at about 40.2 million dollars
023compared to an optimal target of approximately 36.8 million. That result in excess of about $3.5 million. If no additional action is taken, our fund balance will continue to decline each year and eventually become sustainable. This is not a short-term issue. It is a structural challenge driven by declining enrollment, lower attendance in a system that is larger than what we need today. The work we have outlined is about responding to that reality in a thoughtful and responsible way. It is about bringing our facilities, staffing, and resources in line with the number of students we serve while continuing to support strong programs and minimizing disruption. >> Thank you for your time and I am happy to take any questions. >> Take comments first from the board and then uh from the public. Are there any board members
024questions or comments. >> Money, just clarification. Did the um the 121 to 126 our deficit did that include Rasco's adjustment? >> Okay. >> Just to clarify for myself, the functional capacity um that's If you read any coming out with all the school closings, that's that's kind of the big thing focused in. Uh and that really uh as Jennifer today, this is four classrooms. >> Yes, sir. >> So that that really so it's really the educational setup. >> Okay. >> And we factor in our ratios that we use when we do our tapping as well, >> right? Um couple slides here showed that Robert's uh capacity was 814 or something but all our elementaryaries were 8363. >> Okay. Can't say that. So that changes the percentage a little bit for for Robert's uh if if this
025you know consolidation so to speak goes through. Um, looking at the the clue feature pattern, uh, you indicated that our class sizes 20 and 21. Uh, do we know what the class sizes for with Griffin and Oz and Pope are right now approximately? >> I don't off the top of my head. They are for most of our campuses, they are range between 19 and 21. and our enrollment does include the GT classes. >> Bil um and going back to look at Griffith >> 616. Yeah. And that's with the of course that's with the new classrooms that are 616 versus the 836. That's quite a bit difference from the newer school. So um and our enrollment at Pope is 41 395 something like that at this point. >> Pul is 398. >> They have the capacity
026for 59. And we think they're class size 19 and 20. >> They stay between 19 to 21 because they're staffing each classroom. >> Uh just just to comment on your home building starts uh after the Lions meeting last month or so. I did ask Donald about why the CL Jackson were not there. He says it was because they were so low and he was going to send me those. I haven't I think he was saying they thought they were less than 10 for the to compare some of these 20s and 30s and 40s. So it is just to point out it's really low far home. So and off the top of your head, did we know what a one cent tax increase generates? That's just a question. >> The question I had. Okay, that's good
027for me right now. Should be noted though that we have reduced the tax rate by 30 cents over the last seven to eight years. So, any other board members? I got a comment to uh I was in the I've been in the district for a long time. Um I've been through a reduction in twice here in BD and when you when you lose people you know you work with it's a tough thing. Um since I've been on the board Mr. massive sometimes tell me to be quiet. I want him to be sure that the reduction of force is the last thing that that I will support if we have other ways to take care of our financial situation. Uh we're not we're not the only one in this boat and uh this casino and this
028neighbors and the cabinet have done an outstanding job doing their best to uh keep this thing going in the right direction. Um every now and then you have to look at all the circles on the uh on the Christmas tree and decide which one you're going to do, which one you're not going to do. But I think as a 30 plus year educator in BISD, um I'm proud of what we try to do to keep our school district up where it is. And so hopefully as we look at this uh everybody will keep those things in mind. Nobody nobody wants anybody to lose a job. So that's that's one pri priority we're going to try to uh take care of and uh so it's going to be a it's going to be an arduous task
029as we go through this budget. So, uh, if you have a you got questions, ask one of us instead of asking somebody that might not know. Sometimes that happens. And we can we can probably give you an answer that you might need to know. I also think it's important to say note whatever that this is not new to anyone on this board. These are things that we've been talking about for the last three, four years. We've been cutting every year. Unfortunately, inflationary items, electricity, increases in in gasoline and utilities, all these things constant factors that we've been have to deal with. Increases in cost of maintenance, things like that. Um that all everyone here in the community is dealing with too as well. That's nothing new to anyone here as well. And obviously we've had
030to keep up with salary demands and raises for our teachers that are always much needed environment. So many and and quite frankly some of the the unfunded mandates that the state continues to put on us that we don't have opportunity to to reconcile either. Um and then of course changes in our population too as well. as everyone knows too that special education increases that we've had to deal with. So many of the cuts that we've done, I think we probably average between two and six million over the last four plus years have been eaten up by you know increases in inflationary and salaries and required spending. Um insurance has always been a problem for the last few years. would get hit get hit pretty hard from a building code standpoint. Um you know so so
031you know these things have all been discussed and looked at and continue to be looked at and so um although some of the people in the community these are things that we've been talking about for multiple years and quite frankly we've been addressing obviously there's been a number of adjustments we've made for your pattern um over the last few years and continue to look ins work for you better. >> Kind of to that point to point out that for me the the staffing when you see the trends that's kind of a lagging indicator. We as as much as we we try to get all the help from experts, you know, we've been through the demographic experts and everything trying to uh forecast you know, the way that we've staffed and all of a sudden when
032when the population start dropping, it's it's a lagging effect that that's when we have to start making changes and and try to get those those trends a little bit closer. But it it's not I mean, from year to year, it's kind of it's kind of up in the air to know where we're going to be at and Now looks like yeah it's time to start adjustments that from the trends that we see that we're going to be supple. >> Well there's also in that 14 to 17 time frame you know we had billions of dollars of investment. Um and if you look at the population we had little to no increase because of that. There were some spikes because of um construction workers coming into our area uh and working, but from a student standpoint,
033there wasn't any. And it really mostly temporary um population growth. Most of the plans were, you know, maybe five to 10 people increases if there were any increases. Maybe there were just movements in the industry within the company. So, we saw massive growth which afforded us a lot of luxury to build some of these schools that now have the capacity that they have. Um but um you know we just never saw the population growth between all that investment too as well. >> I think as our community focuses on consolidation and closing schools, we really need to focus on and we we've all mentioned it. Um we're taking care of our staff, but we're also taking care of student programs in this. We're not sitting here going through all the programs that we're going to um
034because the opportunities that we afford our kids is what make the ISB special. So in lie of that um we've got to work smarter. We got to be more um fiscally responsible and um you know it change is tough. I I understand that. Um, but the the times we're in, we've got to make different or tough decisions. Um, and I'm I'm so proud of our administration and our board that we're not talking about things we can take away from kids and save money. Um, we're finding better use of our resources to do this. Just just uh we go back just a tad on the u the non-eing position reductions. That's I don't know if you can put it up there or not, but um you know this indicates that that we have really looked at
035you know all the departments over the last four years and continue to do so as such. Uh one of the things that that I think the staff will probably focus on is is some of our classes. Kim was saying that not taking anything away, but you know, if you have if we offer a class with that four people enrolled, that's that's really not the cost efficiency and and that's tough and that's tough to do. There's no question about that. But I'm sure that's being looked at and that's because it's always looked at every day. We've eliminated some of some of the courses, but uh um and we talked about salaries. This does this this information right here does not include any salary increases for the upcoming year. So >> the 4 million deficit is being
036added to um question that I have if we go back to the clute consolidation type inquiry. Do we have a cost figure or on this one the green poke griffith? Do we have a cost figure associated with that? Savings. Yeah, savings. One more. >> I think we need one. >> One million. >> Yes. per feeder pattern >> uh for the clue the Sony >> it's one million now the the feboard when it was analyzed a few years out because because of the recent closures I say uh they're closer being utilized uh more with within range so that one I didn't look at the numbers but it would be one >> but you know that the the red part so to speak is going to be increase the functionality presenting anyways by with these targets. Well,
037you know, anytime like was mentioned, anytime a change comes out, you rip the bandages. Uh let's see. I think that's all I have right now. I think it's worth and please jump in on this, but it's also worth There's some new faces here that haven't been to a lot of board meetings. So, oh, sorry. >> Yeah. >> Few faces here that haven't been to a lot of board meetings, but 87% of our budget is salaries. Um, so you take 100% and 87 at least 13%. Probably another two to 5% is uh electricity and transportation and insurance and normal things that all of us have to do just to turn the lights on. Um, And then you have probably another couple two or 3% for uh classroom supplies and all those kind of things. We'll probably
038add about 97 or 98% before we even talk about maintenance. Um maintenance usually gets deferred. So, um, if you try to run a 17 18 campus district on a 1 or 2% maintenance budget, as you can imagine, there's that's not always the best. Um, as well, we have 12,000 students coming through on a daily basis or 10,000 students, 5,000 students come through on a daily basis. So, um, you know, it's it's tight no matter what we do. Um, just to open day one. So, just I thought it would be good to track any of those numbers if I'm wrong on any of those, but 87% is always a good one to start with just because that's our base uh salaries um to get going. So anytime we have any type of um simple pay raise
039um for our staff, it's significant, you know, impact on our budget on because it's a you know a million but a million per just another obvious question that I think has been answered but just sure is that with with the blue system uh our our uh facilities can handle that with number of rooms etc. And and the question again is on on the green on the blue one the facilities can handle most of that or if not all is >> not it's not as close as uh the lake Jackson one the the that that one is we we've verified that that's we have capacity in those buildings. Uh not as much so in the green and in the pulp scenario but that's why we would continue to monitor monitor the enrollment. If the enrollment trends
040continue to to lessen as they have uh then that would be something we would consider. Well, I think I think if you look back the last three or four years that enrollment trend is going to continue. So, I'm I'm not sure that you know monitoring enrollment is is maybe the best next step as opposed to like I said ripping the band-aid and making sure that uh we don't dig ourselves a bigger hole on our budget deficits because we're going to have raises this year hopefully. Well, that's I shouldn't say that. We're going to we're going to consider what the raises will cost us and then then we'll have to make that decision. But we're going to be in the same position for next year, you know, considering any potential wages again. So, you know, that's
041that's money that that we're not going to get any help from state legislature meets in January, if they decide anything, it won't be for two years before we get money. So, uh and we're not can't count on that at all. So, anyway, that's just something that I think uh we really need to consider great depart members. I've been on the board the longest in this group and we were over 13,000 when I got on the board. So, we're down down to 10 10 plus. And as part of the presentation was is that the the numbers look like they're going to continue to go down by a couple hundred every year for at least the next four or five years. So I mean that's potentially another thousand kids in five years. So um not not the
042uh most optimistic uh numbers that we would love like to see. Definitely not that I would like to see. Uh we have already closed I think four schools over the last uh several years for the very same reason. Uh it's not just us. Uh most districts in the state are experiencing this. Uh if you watch the news uh I think Houston closed 12. They announced 12 about a month ago and Fort Ben. I mean it's it's not us. It's it's everywhere. And so everywhere everyone is dealing with the same exact circumstances that we are. There are a few districts that are having some growth. Uh but by and large across the state, they're having these exact same conversations. So appreciate your patience as we go go through this as we do our very best to
043to make the best choices that we that we feel are in the best interest of our districts and folks and our kids. Any other comments from the board before we move on? All right, we had one sign up uh audience member to sign up to discuss uh our budget workshop. Um and if you would just come to the board, Miss Rhonda Good evening. How are you doing today? >> The statement that I'm going to say now is the one I couldn't say last week. >> Good evening. >> I'm sorry. Does it have to do with >> everything? specifically for our budget. >> It has to do with everything. >> Well, it can only be comment on what's on the agenda. >> Yeah. >> Then if it's about the agenda, um I have several >> at
044our at our regular board meeting uh here in a couple weeks, we'll have audience participation where you can speak to non-aggenda items. Uh but You can only make public comments on items that are on the agenda. >> Well, I assigned it as non-aggenda items. >> No, we don't have non-aggenda items, not the budget workar. Yeah. >> Okay, then I'm going to have some comments about the budget. Um, one is one question I did have about the budget is the AP. Uh, >> is this the principal? >> No. Oh, the AP >> the AP testing and the dual credit courses. >> Okay. >> Also, the rec the reclassification of the software science uh licenses. Is that going to be for the CTE courses that are going to be offering the licenses that they're required for those
045courses? >> Those are good questions. Thank you. Yeah. So, the AP testing is and the dual credit that is u a consideration right now. The school district pays for students to take their AP exam. And so we we could consider having students pay to take their AP exam. And then we also pay for students to take dual credit classes. It's about $100,000 that we pay the district pays out of our local budget for students to take dual credit classes. Uh we've made an agreement with Bradport College where they're going to pay we pay for two classes. The college is going to pay for one and then we'll just have to pay for one other. So that was what you saw on the slide. That's a reduction of $50,000. So we certainly appreciate the college doing
046that. >> And what about the TPE courses? >> So that I think the you're talking about the slide that had the um the techn that's what we're going to pay for bond the uh subscription. We have a lot and there's lots of teachers here and they know we have lots of digital subscriptions >> that they use and so uh we're able to uh pay those through bond money and it takes it out of our local budget >> but also uh you get reimbured for that too. >> I'm sorry. >> Some of those amounts get reimbured back to the >> not for the digital subscriptions. some of the amounts if a student takes a class or a test or whatnot. Some of those amounts >> we're talking about. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> We're talking about
047a software that they use in their classroom. The teachers and we use and we can classify that as an asset, not sorry. Yeah. The CT certifications is not included in any of that. >> Yeah. So, we will Yeah. student. And can you explain also the requirements for graduation that that will be falling into the uh because it also falls into the budget because it will fall into accountability. So by them being a requirement for graduation that means more kids have to enroll and more kids it will be like it's funding so that people can be more explained and starting freshman next year so that they can be more advised. Yeah, I think you're talking about what the board approved at the last uh uh board meeting where we changed the uh criteria for incoming freshman
048to make sure they uh take all the classes that they're supposed to take to be college and career military ready. So, we changed the graduation requirements for incoming freshmen to ensure that they are college and career military ready because we do get additional funding for that and and they get they get extra that too. >> So, how are you going to account for the students that are in special ed, have learning disabilities or cannot take those courses because of X or Y reasons? >> The same way it won't be a negative factor. Actually, we we get even more money when a special ed student gets a certification, industry based certification, and graduates. And so, uh we put lots of effort in there. teachers put lots of effort in serving our special ed students. >> And
049what is going to be the um you were talking about the reduced in staffing. We all need teachers and we have really good teachers because some of them taught my daughter how to talk when she came to the district at three and a half years old and couldn't talk. Uh, are you going to keep putting uncertified teachers in the classroom? >> Um, >> we try not to put uncertified teachers in the classroom. We have many that are working through certification programs. Um, we've reduced the rate of uncertified and we also have to follow things that came out with the last house bill and we cannot put uncertified teachers in four classes um starting and so we are working through that but we have we have a small amount of certified teachers and we have the
050ability to DOI still for our CTE program as long as they have industry certifications that match the course. >> A welding teacher doesn't necessarily have to have gone >> college and got a and and received education uh background to teach welding. So our CT because we're district innovation and there are other classes other than that but our core classes are not really we're not falling under that. We have uncertified teachers in those core areas and by the house bill that came up unacceptable in 2016 I'm sorry >> where there have been instances where there have been unmentored teachers well no I don't say teachers like I said that have been >> but that's really not dealing with Yeah. >> Um, what's going to happen with LJI whenever they close? >> LJI. >> Well, now the
051schools whenever you close them, what's going to happen? Are you going to sell them off or are you going to what's going to happen with them? Is there any plans for all that empty space? >> I mean, that's an ongoing concern. We've already closed several schools. We're about to tear down May Elementary because it's How old Joe? You were there in second grade? 60 something years old. >> Elizabeth be the first prek that's going to be free for um that it was going to have it was supposed to be for the 2019. It was supposed to be assigned the first prek here in the county like in the area. They was be awful for you and then close. >> No ma'am, that's not accurate. But what is accurate is nay was a prek for our
052three elementary Roberts and Brandon. Uh but then the campuses had capacity Roberts, Brandon and Bo had capacity to take on the prek and so we closed they and put the prek back on the three campuses. So this is >> with declining enrollment. Yeah. So this is again unfortunately this is not something new. It's uh that that we've been mitigating our declining enrollment uh by closing campuses. It started 10 years ago uh with Jane Long and Fleming OA Fleming Elementary. Uh we reconfigured the grades there because of the cing enrollment freeport. Uh then when we built the new Freeport Elementary School, uh we closed those two campuses and then as Glasco continued to decline in enrollment, Laneir, we reconfigured the things there and then as enrollment continued decline in Freeport, we ultimately closed Velasco. Um we
053closed Steven F. Offstead of course uh last December because declining enrollment there. So again, this is not a a new process for us to miticate the declining enrollment. Now we have a situation where we have capacity for sixth graders at Lake Jackson Intermediate uh and we have capacity for the fifth graders to stay on the elementary campuses. And so that's why we're go through our annual budget development process uh during this time every school year. And so that's that's why we're considering uh doing that more efficient use of our fac Again, as as Mr. Schultzy explained uh so we can continue to pay our teachers a well-deserved amount uh and we can keep good student programs so we're not cutting librarians and gifted and talented and stream programs and and things like things like that
054so we can continue to offer our kids programs and and and give our teachers a well-deserved compensation uh so we can keep good teachers here by utilizing the capacity of our buildings. >> And you say you offer prek and you have to pay for prek. >> No, students can qualify for prek. And if they qualify, it it is free. We also offer tuition based free uh prek for those that do not qualify for free prek. That is across the state of Texas. But we also offer all day prek, not just the half day. >> And how much is it >> for tuition? >> Uhhuh. >> 6,000. >> Yeah, we're required to get a certain amount. >> How much is it? $600. >> I'm sorry. $600 for >> ma'am. Thank you. >> All right, that was
055our uh only one who signed up to address to ask a question about the budget. Got a lot of folks. I normally don't do this, but uh I care about our district. I care about our schools. Is there anybody else who has a question about the budgets before we move on? >> Yes, sir. You got to come up to the podium. >> Sure. >> Let's take your name, please, sir. >> Yeah. Matthew Murvy, I live in Lake Jackson. Okay. First off, thank you for the great presentation. Um, very detailed. Frustrating, obviously, as a parent to see the situation, but I appreciate the data on understanding where we're at. Just a couple questions on the slide that showed the percent of capacity. Uh, I saw that there's, you know, room in those schools. Um as far
056as the number of students in terms of the classrooms themselves has the analysis been done at this point to understand you know if we're 97% of student capacity do we have available classrooms what does that mean in terms of consolidation of existing class that's why we're considering because we do have room I mean that that was discussed before we ever before we ever had this conversation is we want to make sure that that we had the room Uh >> yes. Yeah. Classrooms as well. Then >> we've Yes. >> And in the newer schools, all the elementaryaries were recent design. So they meet the new criteria for TVA the largest classroom. So we're require the state require certain size physical size 10 by 10 12 whatever that physical size requires it by their minimum guidelines for
057um classroom size. elementary schools, 22 kids is the maximum you can have that elementary school classroom. And so those classrooms are designed to specific size. Our older schools, some of the ones that we've been tearing down were not built to the same standard. So all of our new ones are are larger, bigger, more open. Even the furniture is changed to accommodate being able to move it, change it as opposed to the old desk. So >> Sure. And and I apologize. I guess my question is so for LGI for instance you've got two grades there. Now >> if you're using 100% of your classrooms or if you're using in my mind more than twothirds then obviously there's some shifting in terms of class size or structure to accommodate I guess my question is how much are
058we looking at hey we're going to have to really retool the classes put more kids in classrooms versus hey we just have excess classroom. >> Yeah that's that's actually a question Mr. service because uh I've heard that that the way we're going to fit in the kids at LJI is we're going to increase the class sizes. We're not increasing the class sizes. We we can fit the kids in there. We we staff all of our secondary classes at 24 to one. So for every 24 kids they get they get a teacher. Yeah. And so that's the way we staff Rasco. That's the way we staff LJI Razwood 24 to1 ratio. Our elementaryaries of course are 22 to1 but at least staff based on and so we will continue to staff based on that same ratio
059and so and so the teachers know some classes they have 28 30 kids some classes they have 18 19 kids at secondary just because of different periods all periods electives things like that so it's not exactly 24 kids every class period but the average should be uh 24 kids times whatever their teaching load is should average to 24 So, we're not increasing the the the the 24 to one staffing type show to to make this fit. >> We clearly will have to make adjustments scheduling and pass and things like that when when particulars are eating and all those kind of things. Those things will obviously have to change at LGI to accommodate the students. >> Thank you. One final question if I may. I really appreciate Jerry's question about uh how much does one set
060tax increase uh make a difference as a parent and I re I recognize my personal bias as a parent of children in the district where man anything we can do to you know increase increase the educational opportunity but are there concurrent and I recognize that's probably outside of perhaps the board itself but are there concurrent funding uh initiatives being explored to increase tax allocation towards BIC? We're we're funded based on student enrollment and average daily attendance from the state, you know, and so we don't get to even we don't get to keep all of our taxes that are collected locally. Once we hit a certain point, it goes to the state. It goes back to the state in the form of recapture. >> Okay. So, that's a state law allocation. Okay. Yes, sir. >> Good
061question. Commonly referred to as Robin. >> Yeah. >> Again, part of my good question. If if you want a good slide, they have really they have a really good slide on on we call it a cup, but it's as we increase tax revenue, state sends less logos. So, thank you. >> They Ludy would be able to give that to you if you ever wanted to see it. >> I saw one other hand. >> No. >> Yes, ma'am. Hi. >> About the budget. >> Do you want me to open? >> Yeah. >> Hi, my name is Savannah Olivas. Uh, I have a VIP student. Um, I kind of understand the logic. Uh but my question I know a lot of parents at my school are worried about are transfers are is that there's been a lot
062of talk that because of these changes if they are made because I know they're not approved yet but if they are made is there going to be a stop hard on accepting transfer students. >> Yeah. Good question and thank you for uh going through our ambassador program too. >> Yeah. that. So the these numbers were made uh without eliminating any transfers. >> Yeah. >> Without eliminating >> Yeah. without changing attendance boundaries and without um eliminating any transfers. And so we Yeah. Yeah. So we get a lot of in you know because our schools are relatively small and they're really close together. >> Uh for our area they we get a lot of transfers in and out. You know we transfers into Brandon out of Brandon. We get out of district transfers. We get transfers from
063Angleton, Flipin, Alvin. >> Yeah. >> West Columbia, Sweeney. We get We have kids that transfer out and we have just as many or more kids that transfer back in. And so, um, yeah. So, this >> that's what I've been hearing a lot and that's what people are a lot are frustrated because they're like, well, I have a fourth grader who's going to be going to fifth grade and then they're going to make them move out of the only school they ever been to. So, I know that's one of the things I understand the logic and I kind of uh see why you have to do this. My question is because you said that you guys been studying this for a long time, then why did you guys build that whole sidewalk for uh or the
064whole driveway? Yeah. >> So, I know that's another question that people have asked like several and I was like, well, this has been a study that you guys been doing and noticing the change like and this was a possibly like I'm pretty sure this is not an idea that came out this year. >> So, why did you do that improvement of Brasco this of the driveway? >> No, nobody has anticipated losing the amount of students that we've lost. Uh, nobody definitely nobody anticipated Uh we had a demographer come out and tell us that our numbers were actually going to be going the other way. I mean we've had him a lot of money. He come every 10 years >> 2019 and then co hits and then there's just been a shift. there's a paradigm shift
065in education >> homeschool uh you know the number one reason we lose I'm sorry >> uh that was at times that homeschool you know now the homeschool parents can just tell the secretary or anybody at the campus yeah that I'm going to homeschool my kid and and they withdraw >> and so we that's the the number one reason why we lose kids our enrollments we lose kids that are currently enrolled is they move >> and that has to do with housing and jobs. The second reason we lose the kids to the signing of losing kids. Second reason is home school. Kids that are that are going to home school. >> So So again, that that's that's nothing we can't we didn't have any factor because those laws have changed. >> You know, the legislative session
066last session really gave parents a lot of choices. You know, we see parents like those choices and homeschool is a choice that they like and that we see they're choosing. >> And I noticed this year that we that the schools were very like pushing attendance and um and I know that if we increase attendance maybe by one or two% that can make a significant difference. So, uh but the thing is I feel like the parents might not know that this attendance like they think that it's just you guys pushing attendance. I don't think they understand. They need I feel like there should be a more of a breakdown of uh or so simplified way to tell parents like this is what's happening right now but if we have attendance increase I know I mean I
067know that >> but you need to like simplify it because people don't believe that so they're going on >> and they're like letting their kids >> Well that's why they like home school too. >> Yeah that's also why they do like home. >> This is also a state issue. Uh, previously when we were in school here, if you missed a day, you got a call from the Justice of Peace, right? Um, and we had real laws that would, you know, that had teeth >> to them. And they've gotten rid of all of those laws. And so now there's no no recourse for us >> to, you know, to to, you know, help enforce that, right? And help encourage. We can encourage it all we want. >> Yeah. >> But there's no real secondary piece to
068that. So, you know, people can go on a two week vacation and It is what it is, right? >> Yeah. But >> looks like it's cloudy outside. They're going to stay at home. >> And I and I also feel like some people like as you can see there's more people now because there was like a lot of ruckus in social media. So definitely should be a outlet for you guys to like put more simplified information out there. And I feel like a lot of people felt like it was done in secret, but really I know it's not because everything's in the >> That's what this is. This is the public. >> I I know it's not. But just like um I don't know. >> I think blindsided might be the way. >> Yeah, I think
069that's what it is. And uh and I think maybe if it was just said out a little bit more loud because I feel like people thought it was secretive and I know that's not your intention, but I was just saying like that's probably what the outrage of what people are feeling. >> So to to address the the why do we spend money on a on a parking lane to turn around? Uh >> those those plans were made years ago. >> Okay. Th those were not. >> So you had to spend the money. >> We didn't make the plan and then build it the next week. I mean we we made the plans years in advance. Uh and for safety for kids getting in and out and cars not being on the road and and pickup
070is always especially depending on the school. It's it's crazy and and it affects neighborhoods and and adjacent homes and adjacent buildings. I mean businesses and so I mean th those plans were made years in advance. And so, uh, I mean, this conversation really has only come up in the last couple of months as we continue to look at the numbers and the decline. And so, it's like we have to act, we have to do something. So, that's why we're talking about >> Yeah. And that's why I'm asking the question cuz I'm sure like the other questions people are asking. >> So, just so you know, we get about one or two visitors for a typical board meeting. So, this is a little unusual um for us, but we go through all those lists that Ludy
071put up there the other day. Those are on every single one of our budget updates and we start budget in now it's a little earlier. It used to be in February, now we're starting in January because of our timeline. It's changed a little bit, but we put all those up and we put all those items on there of items that we're discussing that are potential, non- potential, and um all those things get discussed in every single board meeting from January till we pass the budget in August. And that we've done that. I've been on the board for 12 years. We do it every time. For 12 years, we've been doing that. We do it every time. So, people accuse us of being secretive and all that. It's because they don't come to the board meetings.
072They don't read the information that we put out there. So, uh, we can put it out there. You can come to our board meetings. We record them. They're on YouTube. Um, and so if if if people aren't reading it, there's nothing we can do about that, right? So, people love to go on to social media and and say all these things, but if they would just call us, um, you know, we don't You send an email, we respond. >> We certainly understand how you feel blindsided by that. It's not >> because I think majority of the people in our community don't realize we have declining enrollment. People in Lake Jackson, they don't know that >> Lake Jackson's down to 707 kids or Rasco is down to 707 kids. You know, people people aren't aware of
073that. >> Yeah. Because they see classroom full and they don't but they're only seeing their classroom. So uh so I totally understand and I appreciate the time and all the information >> just to clarify just to clarify the we don't anticipate any changes in the transfer >> rules at this point. The only thing may need to be aware of is that as we increase the utilization of the schools, the transfer may become a little more difficult due to >> so that's transfer. >> So the only the only thing that I'll add on is that we saw we adjusted from last year to this year for a decreasing ATA but we saw it lower than we had actually 200 lower than what we had originally anticipated and where we're seeing the decrease actually is free port
074which you see on the enrollment but if we go by grade level you're going to see it actually at the little ones with prek is not growing the way it used to be in other years. So what we anticipate going forward is if our prek group is not growing is going to get get smaller and smaller and smaller every year after that. There's like an overall decline of population in correct 2020, right? >> Because people are waiting longer to have kids. People are waiting longer to get married. People are waiting longer to have kids and they're having your kids. >> And so, thank you. Anyone else have questions I can ask? >> Rebecca Lee. Um, I have a fourth grader at Beth Brandon's who um has severe dyslexia, but half the moms in this room
075are transfer uh moms from Sugar Mill. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. >> And um we looked at the numbers. >> Yes. And we we live one street outside the district and my daughter has gone to Best Brandon for the last five years and we're worried to be quite honest and that's why half of us are here. So, has there ever been any discussion about making that entire neighborhood come to BISV? I mean, both my husband and I both work at DA. Um, we want to go to school here. Um, but it's it's difficult and we we can't drive a half hour >> to take kids to school. So, I guess that's the question is if they've ever, you know, thought about reszoning that area. >> No, because we treat it like it is. We've read about
076this out there even though it's not uh >> only to the first two streets, not to the back part of the neighborhood. >> Yeah. So, um it's >> known to West Columbia. >> Yeah. Columbia would have to uh the Columbia Victoria ISD would have to be willing to give that >> relinquish that up and I doubt they would want to do that >> because they still get some kids there. I think most of the kids that live >> most of the kids come here >> come here. Yeah. And and always have and and we we like that and we like serving serving the students there. We've kind of treated it like they're ours anyway. I think most people out there >> think of that as the problem. >> Yeah. I mean our our our addresses
077are lesson but like what Jerry just said, it may be more difficult to come to school here and get in. So that's what we're worried about. >> Right. No. So uh again we we have always treated even though they are out of district transfers we've always treated sugar mill is really ours and um we'll continue to do that and we won't transfers from that area transfers in general especially from that area will not be affected by this >> I think when we talk about transfers too I mean and correct me if I'm wrong when we talk about transfers we're really talking about internal transfers >> okay >> going from you know portal to Brandon to wherever rather we want as many outside. >> Okay. >> We're helping. >> Yeah. No, no, no. We we we
078have a declining enrollment. We want as many outside the district transfers as we can get in. >> But let me clarify. I'm not saying that we're going to be full with this change quickly. But but you know, the fact that we're increasing our utilization is one of the goals we're having. But I don't think we're ever going to be full and I don't think that our enrollment is going to increase in the next couple years. So I don't really think there's that big of a concern because we do we don't mind seeing one and Galloway. I forget who asked the question about what we do with the schools. Again, we have a great school in Glasgow. It's a beautiful campus still too that's not being utilized either. You know, so we have if something was
079to change and all of a sudden we got 10,000 people here and 10,000 kids, you know, a housing subdivision comes in and like Jackson there, you know, we have the capacity and the ability to do that. >> Thank you. Thanks for coming. >> I had a quick question. When do you expect to vote on this? >> Great question. >> Before the end of the school year would be our rejected time >> because I mean we'll we'll have to make plans for next year. >> Yeah, >> we we'll have a decision before the >> discussion next week. >> All right. Last call. Yes, ma'am. >> I have a quick question. Um >> everybody Tell us your name, please. >> Yes, Victoria Ruth. I have two daughters at Rosco and I just have to say we have
080absolutely loved BC. Both of my girls have thrived at Rosco. Um, so it's close to my heart to hear that this is happening. Um, but I'm interested in knowing about the staffing. You guys mentioned that there's going to be a reduction of staffing. What is the expected reduction with these changes? Does that mean that there's going to be potentially less teachers if there's less students? How does that work? So, for the staffing, the teachers that are, let's say this was to be voted on and take place, the teachers at Rasco would follow the students. So, um they'd go to LJI, they'd go to the elementary. Um when we say we're reducing staff, it's through attition. So we have to we cannot go over 22 to1 with our elementary students. Um we're only making reductions where
081they are needed but through attrition. So if somebody leaves um and then the staffing that we would save by consolidating campuses, it's not teaching position. It would be administrative costs and then we can shift those to vacancies that we have in the district. >> Okay. Every year we have uh every across the state somewhere between 13 and 16% uh of our staff leaves either they move uh they retire they retire most of our teachers are female they have kids or whatever. So I mean every year we lose 13 to 16% of our staff. So we're always constantly hiring hiring just the way it is now. We will not be hiring as many. Uh we would rather fill it with the teachers we have. Uh so as spots become open because someone's left we fill it
082with the folks we have. We've been that's another great question. That's one that we've been dealing with for the last few years too as well. has um you know we consolidate as we um reduce instead of hiring 150 teachers maybe we're only hiring 100 because we have capacity to move some of those all the even if Austin teachers got jobs in other districts you know schools in the district um you know so we have lots of capacity for so always hired I think I got 14 votes today but employment opportunities How many of your teachers? >> How many of your teachers? >> You guys, you guys are what makes BSD go and the students that you have in your classrooms are the other part of that program. And so that's all we need is you
083guys to teach and the kids to learn. Don't make any difference if we have to move across the street. We're still going to grow. We're still going to get better. >> Yes, sir. Last question. >> Yeah. Uh Nathan Brody, I've got uh for kids in BISC. Actually kind of dovtails nicely into my question. I've heard some comments that uh one of the areas of the most budget increases is like non-eing positions like administrative positions and things like that. I don't you know I'm coming from a place of ignorance. I I just hoping you kind of speak to that. Is there truth to that? What what kind of positions are those? >> Yeah, that that's why we always include that slide. a little late coming uh in our budget because that yeah people think that uh
084yeah >> we're top heavy >> yeah top heavy administrative heavy and so we we we've got data approved that that we're not and we've shown what we've red over $3 million of reduction within the non-classing people because you know that's that's what we want to protect the most is our classrooms our teacher classrooms and so when we make reductions that that's what we We protect the classroom first and then reduce everywhere else as we can. >> Okay. >> A lot of those I I don't know what time you got here, but there was a slide in there about some of the increases in there. A lot of the increases that we had during that time period was like behavioral >> uh we had digital coaches when we went to a onetoone program in 15 or
08516 whenever that was obviously we had to teach a lot of people how to use everything and and integrated that into our classroom things like that. We hired a lot of those. We did a lot of instructional coaches. We identified when I first got on the board, we had 11 of 19 campuses in needs improvement. We needed some assistance with uh upgrading our our classroom instructional and so we hired a bunch of classroom instruction. We did some best classroom uh modeling things like that. So we hired a number of those. So a lot of the increases revolved around some of those things. Um we've eliminated majority of those if not all of those over the last three to five years. Um we kept a little bit of them right after co because of um but
086we most if not all those slides show available posted on the wherever the agenda is the website or somewhere. >> Yes. Yeah, we can we can send it to you or >> one last question from Mr. It's a request. Um, based on the before and afters that we did make uh of the potential Rasco uh situation, can you also update that to show the utilization if we implemented the uh folk and the free port? So, be two two more scenarios to show the utilization numbers. Not that I like numbers. Thank you, Miss Ludy. Uh, that concludes our budget workshop. The next item that we have on our agenda, our next uh, scheduled meeting will be right here April 20th at 6 o'clock. Next time that we have is our executive session. Executive session may be
087called for the purposes permitted by the Texas Open Meeting Act, Texas Government Code sections 551.001 001 through 551.146 sections 551.071 consultation with attorney section 551.72 for the purpose of discussing the purchase exchange lease for value of real property section 551.074 personnel matter appointment employment evaluation reassignment duties discipline dismissal All right. We will now reconvene in front of executive session. The time is officially 9:06. Unless there are any objections, we stand a journ. >> All right.