The Tomball Independent School District announced last week that, despite potentially facing millions of dollars in budget cuts, it will not lay off any teachers or staff for the 2011-12 school year.

Tomball ISD Chief Financial Officer Jim Ross explained to the district’s board of trustees at an April 11 meeting that among the funding bills being considered by state legislators are House Bill 2484 and House Bill 2485.

TISD spokesperson Staci Stanfield explained that the difference in the two bills is that HB 2484 would allow school boards to set a tax rate to cover for the loss in state funding, while HB 2485 would not.

If either of the bills are passed, Ross explained that TISD could be facing a shortage of up to $16 million for the next budget year. However, despite the potentially significant funding cut, Tomball ISD says it has been preparing for such an eventuality.

“Tomball ISD prepared for the state’s budget shortfall by setting aside funds for the district’s continued fiscal stability,” Stanfield stated in a press release. “District administrators observed last fall the state’s call for state agency budget reductions and realized a greater than anticipated budget shortfall was pending in the 2011 Legislative Session.”

Stanfield previously said that the district had not decided what, if any, cuts would be made, and that those decisions would be made once a budget was passed.

If a bill similar to HB 2484 is passed and the district is facing large financial cuts, one option to maintain the district’s current level of fiscal operation would be to increase the district’s property tax rate, Ross said.

Ross explained that a total rate of $1.82 under HB 2484 would meet current operation levels, a potential increase of 46 cents. Under HB 2485, the rate could be lower, with a proposed maximum Maintenance and Operation (M&O) of $1.06 and $.43 for Interest and Sinking (I&S), resulting in a potential $1.49 tax rate.

Currently, the district’s tax rate is set at $1.36, which includes a rate of $1.01 for M&O and $.35 for I&S.

In preparation for the pending shortfall, Stanfield stated that the district has “implemented a 10 percent reduction in campus and department supplies and materials budgets.”

“The district has also began renegotiating or reconsidering contracted service agreements, reducing employee travel budgets and carefully reviewing any open positions prior to continuing the position,” Stanfield said.

Those initiatives, she said, would “substantially reduce” next year’s anticipated operational budget.

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