Leander school board approves more sick leave for employees, considers future budget shortage
The Leander school board has approved giving employees five more days of sick leave due to the omicron variant and also asked that a 2% raise for instructors be included in the preliminary budget for next year.
The district's finance officer also spoke at the board meeting on Thursday night about a future budget shortage and presented proposals to raise revenue. The board also discussed whether to hold another bond election in November or in May 2023 but didn't make any decisions.
Trustees also considered proposals for the calendar for next school year including starting school on Aug. 17, which is a week later than this year. The change is being considered because of feedback from the community. Board members did not take any action on the calendar.
The extra sick leave days the board approved for employees will give the five additional days retroactively from Jan. 3 June 30 to any employee who tests positive for the coronavirus.
READ: Austin-area schools see rising teacher and student absences
"We are seeing people getting COVID multiple times," Superintendent Bruce Gearing said on Thursday. The school had 503 coronavirus cases among its staff on Thursday and needed 497 substitutes on that day, according to district figures.
The district currently employs 2,800 teachers.
The district had 1,373 new cases of coronavirus reported among students and staff this week, according to a district website.
"We have managed to survive (teacher illnesses) by lots of central office staff and teachers on campuses doubling up," the superintendent said. "We continue to work hard to make sure we stay open and we stay safe."
The 2% raise for teachers that the board members approved to be included in the preliminary budget for the next school year will cost $5 million, according to a presentation by the district's chief financial officer, Elaine Cogburn.
Other items that the board approved to be included in the preliminary budget include $1 million for an early college program, $1 million for portable classrooms and $6 million for maintenance.
"The bottom line shows that we can’t afford any of these additional costs," she said. The district needs to work on on reducing costs or increasing revenue or a combination of both, Cogburn said.
The district has projected that property values could grow by 18% in the next school year, which would mean the district would have to start sending money back to the state because of the state's recapture program, officials said.
The recapture program takes locally collected property taxes from property wealthy districts and distributes them to lower-wealth districts and charter schools in the state.
"To supplement the lost revenue and continue to fund salaries, teachers and programs, the district could look to a voter approval tax rate election to keep the tax rate the same while generating more money for operations," said Matt Mitchell, a district spokesman.
Under one possible scenario, voters could lower the tax rate while approving more money for maintenance and operations, Cogburn said
If voters approved moving 3 cents per $100 home valuation from the interest and sinking, or I&S tax rate, which pays for bonds, to the maintenance and operation, or M&O tax rate, that pays for operations, it could raise $14.7 million in revenue, she said.
If the penny swap is approved, the district's “golden pennies” — as the cents not subject to recapture are sometimes called — would increase from 5 cents to 8 cents, she said.
Approval would also mean the district's tax rate could be lowered from its current $1.34 per $100 valuation to $1.32 per $100 valuation, according to Cogburn's figures.
Moving 3 cents from the I&S tax rate would not jeopardize the way the district pays current debt, Cogburn said. "It would allow us to issue future debt and pay debt early," she said.
Gearing also told school board members on Thursday that they would have to decide by mid-August whether to call for another bond election in November.
In November 2021, voters turned down a $727.2 million bond proposal that would have paid for five new schools, renovations at 13 schools, new playgrounds and new instruments for band members. Voters also turned down an $11.6 million bond proposal to replace lighting and sound equipment in high school auditoriums and to pay for renovations at two high school performing arts centers.
The district still needs new schools, Gearing said, because by 2025 most of it's elementary schools will hit capacity, he said.
The school board also a named a new elementary school after Carol North at its meeting.
READ: Eanes 'penny swap' gives voters the option to keep tax dollars local
North was a former kindergarten teacher at Block House Creek and Knowles elementary schools who was "a champion of foundational literacy and impacted thousands of children in a remarkable 22-year career in Leander ISD," said Mitchell.
The school is in the Bryson subdivision of Leander and will open its doors to students in August.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Leander school board approves more sick leave for employees, considers budget shortage
