Bryker Woods PTA

AISD 2008-2009 Proposed Budget

September 2, 2008

Dear Friend of Austin ISD,

On Monday, August 25, Austin School Trustees approved the School District’s
budget of approximately $865 million to pay for the diverse academic
demands and rising operating costs for the 2008-2009 school year. The
District’s new budget includes a three percent salary increase for teachers
and all other employees, and 100 percent of the cost of employee-only
health insurance coverage. The three percent pay raise is contingent upon
voter approval of a Tax Ratification Election on Tuesday, November 4, which
is General Election Day across Texas and the nation.

The District’s 2008-2009 Budget include a payment of $173 million to the
state, under the share-the-wealth school finance obligation — $63 million
more than last year. Under state law, AISD no longer receives the benefit
of rising property values. When a homeowner’s property tax payment goes up
because the value of their property increases, as Travis County homeowners
are experiencing, the increased revenue goes to the state.

The starting annual salary for a first-year teacher will increase to
$41,040, so that AISD remains competitive with other Central Texas school
districts. Increased expenditures for energy, fuel and food costs are also
absorbed in the new budget. To balance the budget, Trustees also
authorized expenditures of $21.9 million from the District’s Fund Balance.

Following their budget deliberations, Trustees approved tax rates of $1.079
for the District’s Maintenance & Operations budget, and an additional
$0.123 for repayment of existing bond debt, as well as an order calling for
the Tax Ratification Election on November 4.

At a combined tax rate of $1.202 per $100 of assessed property value, AISD
has among the lowest tax rate of any school district in Central Texas.
Still, if a school district adopts a tax rate that exceeds a “rollback tax
rate,” voters of the district must determine whether to approve the adopted
tax rate.

If a majority of Austin voters approve the November proposition, then the
tax rate for the current year will be the $1.079 per $100 for Maintenance &
Operations that was adopted by Trustees. If the proposition is not
approved, the Maintenance & Operation tax rate will revert to the current
level of $1.04.

As noted earlier, the three percent salary hike for Austin teachers and
school employees will be effective, retroactively, if the November election
for an increased tax rate is approved.

I have attached a Fact Sheet that provides additional information about
AISD’s 2008-2009 Budget and Proposed Tax Rate Increase.
(See attached file: AISD 2008-09 Budget.pdf)

Best regards,
Janis Guerrero, Ph.D.
Executive Director for Planning and Community Relations
Austin Independent School District
1111 West 6th Street
Austin, TX 78703

Phone: 512-414-9776
Fax: 512-414-9773
Visit our website at http://www.austinisd.org