
Mansfield ISD adopts $3.1M deficit budget, approves 3% midpoint raises
Mansfield ISD adopted its 2024-25 budget at its board meeting June 25, 2024, using its strong reserves to cover the spending plan’s deficit.
(Alberto Silva Fernandez | Fort Worth Report)
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Mansfield ISD is joining the statewide trend of school districts approving unbalanced budgets.
Despite facing a $3.1 million deficit, trustees met the spending plan with positive attitudes at their June 25 meeting.
A flip through the budget presentation showed Mansfield ISD consistently meeting its goals, as surrounding districts have lamented tight finances and static education funding from the state.
The adopted deficit number isn’t near the $14.9 million it could have been. District forecasts showed $498.1 million in expenses and $483.2 in revenue.
Administrators whittled down the shortfall with two transfers from other funds. About $6.7 million from Mansfield ISD’s capital projects fund and $5.1 million from set aside workers compensation funds leave enough money to cover about two years’ worth of claims.
To cover the deficit, the district will draw from reserves of nearly $176.6 million, which is enough to keep the equivalent of three months of expenditures, according to a district press release.
What assumptions is the district’s budget based on?
35,885 enrolled students
94.5% average daily attendance
7% increase in property values
$6,160 per student basic allotment
Numbers are subject to change
Also folded into the plan is a staffwide 3% midpoint pay raise, with a starting teacher salary increase to $64,700.
The pay bump keeps Mansfield ISD’s starting teacher pay at the top of North Texas school districts, according to current projections. The new starting salary is $100 above that of neighboring Arlington ISD, which approved a staff-wide 4% pay increase in May.
“In a time where many districts are being forced to cut staff, we are proud to be able to give our employees a raise thanks to the foresight and continuous hard work and dedication of our business office,” said board President Keziah Valdes Farrar in a press release.
Because Mansfield ISD is doing a midpoint raise, the increase for the rest of the staff will depend on the level of degree held, rather than years of service.
Tagged on to the raise is an increase to the district’s monthly contribution to employee health coverage from $250 to $350. Payroll makes up 85% of the general fund budget.
Enrollment projections showed the district will see an increase of 34 students. Since the 2020-21 school year, enrollment increased by 724 students to 35,851, according to board documents.
Any growth for the district stands out from its comparable-in-size neighbors, which have seen general declines in enrollment. Since the 2020-21 school year, Fort Worth ISD lost 5,798, Arlington ISD declined 2,090 and Grand Prairie ISD dropped by 1,592, according to data from the Texas Education Agency.
One challenge Mansfield ISD faces is growth among special population students. Those numbers are increasing faster than the district’s overall enrollment. Special education, dyslexic and emergent bilingual students are among those included in the special population designation. They cost more to educate than other students, according to the district.
In August, trustees will consider a new property tax rate. The proposed tax rate is $1.1469 per $100 of valuation, a slight decrease from last year’s $1.1492, the lowest since 1992.
The steady tax rate was a promise Mansfield ISD made to voters in May, when it asked them to approve a five-pronged $777 million bond package focused on school facility upgrades, stadium renovations and fine arts facility investments.
Voters approved the two biggest propositions, totaling $588.5 million, but shot down three relating to athletic upgrades and fine arts facilities.
Drew Shaw is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601. At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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