CISD Begins Budget As School Year Begins Aug. 8
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – Crockett Independent School District (CISD) board of trustees met Monday, July 29 to go over a proposed budget as kids and teachers prepare for the start of the new school year.
Teachers returned Aug. 1, while students will hit the classes Thursday, Aug. 8. The school is planning a number of events to get students and parents back in the swing, including their Meet the Teacher event, Tuesday, Aug. 6. Elementary school kids and parents will meet at the elementary cafeteria at 3 p.m., while the event at the high school begins at 4 p.m. Following that, the school will hold their Back to School Extravaganza from 5-7 p.m. at the dome facility (see related story in today’s edition). Beginning at 7 p.m., the Meet the Bulldogs event will kickoff, highlighting the many students athletes and new coaches who will keep the fans roaring for the upcoming school year.
The board meeting saw trustees approve monies to support district teachers needing childcare for their own kids, renewing an agreement with Treehouse Academy to cover much of the cost of healthcare for teachers.
CISD Business Manager Tamra Scroggins presented elements of the district’s budget to the board, warning they would face a deficit budget for the second year in a row. CISD Superintendent John Emerich said with a lack of increase in state funds and the rising prices in general, he had spoken to countless other superintendents across the state facing the same problem.
“It’s a worst-case scenario,” Emerich said.
Scroggins noted the district ended enrollment for last year with 1,168 students, noting schools are funded based on attendance and not enrollment. CISD is working to get attendance numbers up, with an overall attendance rate of 93% for last year.
CISD will have about $15 million dollars to budget this year, with around $17 million in expenses, including everything from teachers’ salaries to utilities and other expenses, although she noted they were going line by line to see what could be shaved from the budget, which will need to be approved soon.
Some of the additional spending was due to some of the district’s recent additions, including the new cosmetology center, aides to teach life skills, a speech therapy assistant, among others. CISD Board President Karen Norman told board members the budget information in their packets was not yet concrete, but a synopsis and a starting point for their work on the new numbers to be adopted.
Work on the Andrew Hopkins Dome should be completed sometime during the upcoming volleyball season, Emerich said in his report, and was happy to report the new cosmetology center had passed its state inspection and was ready to begin, with Board Member Steven Tuggle jokingly asking when the price list will be ready. The center will offer services to the public at a discount, once the first wave of students are ready to practice on real-life customers.
A doctor will be on hand for both students and parents one day a week during the upcoming school year, thanks to a grant, with no cost to the district other than electricity. While there will be a cost for the services, no one will be turned away.
CISD Athletic Director informed the board the good news about one his players, linebacker Jim Carruthers, who has received a full scholarship offer to play for Sul Ross State University in Alpine.
The board then went into a lengthy executive session lasting late into the night to resolve legal issues not open to public discussion.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
