Board Meeting: June 8, 2021

BOARD NOTES – June 8, 2021

Public Hearing for 2021-2022 Budget

Dr. Scott Niven mentioned that despite COVID, the District has continued to move forward thanks to the hard work of Jennifer Stewart and several others in their department.

Jennifer Stewart, Director of Budgeting provided information on the analysis of State Funding based on the current understanding of HB3 relating to public school finance and public education. Ms. Stewart reviewed the Maintenance & Operation Tax Rate for 2021 and it’s the second year for the tax rate compression for the District’s Tier 1 tax rate of 0.8469; Tier 2 - $.06; Total M&O - $0.9069. 

Ms. Stewart also provided the Board with a timeline of the Budget and tax rate adoption. The General Fund assumptions are based on a 5% property value growth of $962M as of June 4, 2021, the County indicates a 3.4B growth however, this is before the protest deadline at the end of May. Ms. Stewart provided the Board with a comparison of 2020-2021 Proposed Revenue Budget to the 2019-2020 Adopted Revenue Budget with a 12.99% Debt Service Revenue increase from 2019-2020. 

Dr. Niven provided the Board with information on the lost funding due to Charter Schools. Approximately 1,300 students leave Denton ISD and participate in charter schools with a cost of lost funding of $8,008,000. Texas school districts get $6,160 in basic allotment. Charter schools receive approximately $1,900 per student more than public schools in basic per-student allotment. The 1,300 students lost by Denton ISD cost the state $10,478,000 with an additional taxpayer cost of $2,470,000. 

“This proposed budget will allow us to continue to achieve our goals as a district,” said Dr. Jamie Wilson. “However, things are still changing and evolving with the interpretation of the formula.”

The preliminary calculations show that although the state is communicating an increase to public school funding, the state is only funding 26.8 percent of the budget, and 73.1 percent is funded locally. The majority of public school systems are funded by local property tax funds.

“The state has developed a system that has such finite details and subtle changes, that we will be forced to hire more staff to ensure the accuracy of the reporting and that will consume time and resources,” said Doug Chadwick, trustee.

Workshop Items

Covid-19 Update

Dr. Wilson stated the Denton County Health Department is still encouraging individuals to receive their Covid-19 vaccines and especially children 12 years old and older. Mrs. Price stated the Parkland Hospital stated that 98% of people currently hospitalized with COVID are non-vaccinated individuals.

 

Discussion of 2021-2022 Salary Recommendations and Additional One-Time Employee Retention Payment

Jason Rainey, Executive Director for Human Resources provided the Board of Trustees with information regarding salary increases to DISD staff for the 2021-2022 school year. The recommended general pay increase will be 2% of midpoint in each pay grade for all employees. Each teacher and librarian will receive a minimum $1,250 general pay increase. Teachers and

Librarians from step 11 through step 23 will receive additional pay due to market adjustments. This positively affects 2,352 of our experienced teachers and librarians. The starting teaching salary for new teachers will be $56,400 for the 2021-2022 school year. In addition to the 2% of the midpoint salary increase, the Denton ISD Board of Trustees will act on a one-time retention payment of $500.00 for full-time employees in TRS eligible positions of Denton ISD.

 

Legislative Update for the 87th Legislative Session

Deron Robinson, General Counsel and Dr. Gwen Perkins, Area Superintendent provided updates and resources to the Board of Trustees regarding the 87th Legislative Session.

 

Discussion of Waiver Request for the Opening of a Denton ISD Virtual Academy for the 2021-2022 School Year

Deron Robinson, General Counsel, provided the Board of Trustees information about the proposed TEA waiver which would allow Denton ISD the opportunity to establish a K-8 Virtual Academy, a permanent full-time online learning option for families. The Denton ISD K-8 Virtual Academy will be a public, tuition-free school, serving students in kindergarten through 8th grade. The fully remote learning option will provide an opportunity for students who thrive in the online environment to learn virtually. 

Report Items

Bond Progress Report

Mike Vance presented the Board with an overview of the Bond Progress Committee meeting from the May 19, 2021 meeting. Reviewed balances from bond programs in 2013 and 2018 to see how funds were spent, encumbered or waiting to be spent. Next meeting will be held at Schultz Elementary at 12 PM on August 25.

 

Quarterly Growth Report 1Q21

Bob Templeton, Templeton Demographics provided the 1st Quarterly Growth Report for 2021. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic last March the DFW unemployment rate jumped to 13.1% and has decreased to 6.5%.

The State enrollment for 2021 decreased by 122,350 students. There are currently more than 830 charter school campuses open across Texas. These campuses enrolled nearly 367,000 students in 2020/21, a rise of nearly 30,000 students over last year. 60 separate campuses opened or began reporting enrollment in 2019/20. Denton ISD enrollment has risen by 2,701 students between 2015/16 and 2020/21, an increase of 9.8%. Denton ISD enrollment has declined 652 students from 2019/20, a decrease of -2.1% however it is projected with large population of student growth for the 2021-2022 school year. The district has more than 2,900 lots available to build on across 57 active subdivisions. Within DISD there are more than 31,000 planned future lots in 44 subdivisions of these, groundwork is underway on approx. 2,616 lots within Denton ISD. There are currently 1,884 units under construction in the district within Denton ISD there are roughly 5,400 future multi-family units in the planning stages.

Denton ISD has experienced enrollment growth of over 300 students since Fall 2020. In the last 12 months new home starts in DISD increased by more than 85%. The district has more than 2,900 lots available to build on and approx. 31,000 planned future lots with the largest amount of new home starts & closings occurring within Union Park Elementary Zone. Denton ISD is expected to enroll more than 34,700 students by 2025-26 and nearly 39,600 students by 2030-31.

 

Construction Report

Garry Ryan, Executive Manager of Construction, Planning & Growth provided information concerning construction projects as to scheduling, progress, and funding.

 

Disaster Recovery Services Claim Preparation Report and Winter Storm Remediation Update

Chris Bomberger explained continued efforts to complete the scope of work necessary to repair District buildings and campuses are being done at this time. Denton ISD is working with three remediation vendors to complete the work. Disaster Recovery Services (DRS) has been selected to provide disaster cost recovery services related to the winter storm, including insurance claims and FEMA recovery. As a part of Phase I of the agreement with DRS, protocols

were established for comprehensive loss measurement and strategies for recovery. In Phase II, DRS will be providing assistance with the preparation, review, submittal, and settlement/close out of the District’s disaster cost recovery claims. TASB Risk Management will reimburse Denton ISD for any fees associated with DRS services. As a result of these efforts, District buildings and campuses will be restored in order to facilitate student learning and conduct business as usual. Additionally, DRS will help ensure continuity when preparing for insurance and/or FEMA claim reimbursement.

 

Discussion of 2021-2022 Salary Recommendations and Additional One-Time Employee Retention Payment

Jason Rainey, Executive Director of Human Resources presented the DISD 2020-21 compensation plan. The plan will include two parts: a general pay increase for all employees and an equity adjustment for those employees whose current salary is below the market median. The recommended general pay increase will be 2% of the midpoint in each pay grade for all employees. Each teacher and librarian will receive a minimum $1,200 general pay increase. Teachers and Librarians between steps 1 and 6 will receive additional pay due to market adjustments. This positively affects 2,428 of our experienced teachers and librarians. The starting teaching salary will increase to $55,500 and provide a 2% at midpoint general pay increase at minimum for all continuing teachers. The employee groups general pay increase (raises) would be as follows:  

  • Teachers and Librarians 2.0% of pay range midpoint ($1,200 minimum pay increase)
  • Administrative/Professional 2.0% of pay range midpoint
  • Information Technology pay grade 1-3 2.0% of pay range midpoint
  • Information Technology pay grade 4-9 2.0% of pay range midpoint
  • Clerical/Paraprofessional 2.0% of pay range midpoint  Auxiliary 2.0% of pay range midpoint

 

Children’s Internet Protection Act Compliance Status Update

The Board discussed who they wished to nominate for the new position on the TASB Board of Directors for Region 11, Position C. Directors serve 3- year terms, once elected to a 3-year term, they can be elected to a maximum of three additional terms.

 

Professional Staff Appointments, Resignations & Employment

Dr. Wilson reported Emily McLarty will be Director of Human Resources –

Staff Engagement effective for the 2021-2022 School Year and Fred Younkman will be the Principal at Fred Moore High School effective for the 2021-2022 School Year.

Board Recognitions

State Champion Recognitions

  • Guyer High School’s Brynn Brown posted state records of 4:41.29 in the 1600-meter and 9:58.77 in the 3200-meter events earning her two 6A UIL State Championship Titles for the 2021 Track Season. Brynn is also the current UIL Class 6A State Cross Country Champion. Brynn will attend The University of North Carolina next fall on scholarship. The Guyer High School Track Coach is Megan Sprabeary assisted by Kayla Keese and Jonathan Ponsonby.
  • Ryan High School’s Jackson Parrish posted a time of 1:52.27 in the 800-meter race earning him the 5A UIL State Championship Title for the 2021 Track Season. Jackson will attend Oklahoma’s East Central University in the fall on scholarship. The Ryan High School Track Coach is Jansen Head.

 

Oath of office for Newly Elected Officials

Swearing in of newly elected trustee Sheryl English and incumbent trustee Barbara Burns. The Board officially retired Jeanetta Smith and presented her with gifts and kind words remembering her 15-year tenure as a school board trustee.