Legislative Agenda – 91��Ƭ��

91��Ƭ�� Board adopts legislative agenda for the 89th Texas Legislative Session

Ryan PIERCE — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 16:53:39 +0000

91��Ƭ��'s legislative agenda for the 89th Texas Legislative Session

The Texas Legislature’s 89^th session opens early next year on Jan. 14, 2025, in Austin.

Why does that matter up here in 91��Ƭ��?

The is responsible for public education in Texas and determines everything from the amount of funding that school districts can receive to what is taught in the classroom.

Like every legislative session, education is going to be a big topic next year. In the last legislative session in 2023, 1,294 bills related to public education were submitted, and there’s likely to be more of the same this time around.

That’s why the 91��Ƭ��’s Board of Trustee’s recently adopted a legislative agenda for the 89^th session. The agenda is a series of series of priorities and recommendations that are important to the district and public education in Texas.

91��Ƭ��’s legislative agenda highlights three critical areas: school funding, safety and academic growth.

Click here for a summary of the three priorities or to read the entire agenda.

And pay attention in January and throughout the 89^th legislative session as we post more information about these priorities and school finance in Texas.

91��Ƭ�� issues legislative agenda

Ryan PIERCE — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 15:25:27 +0000

Read summary of district's legislative agenda

The opens its 88^th legislative session today and it will run until May 23. The legislature meets every two years.

91��Ƭ��’s Board of Trustees issues a legislative agenda for each Texas legislative session with a series of priorities and recommendations that are important to the district and public education in Texas. The district’s agenda for this legislative session focuses on school safety, school finance, human capital, learning lag and parental rights. Read the summary below or see the entire agenda here.

School Safety

School safety is the 91��Ƭ��’s number one priority. The 88^th Texas Legislature should help districts improve security by increasing funding for safety enhancements and additional security personnel, allowing most practical application decisions to be made at the local level and prioritizing mental health by providing additional funding for student services and proactive intervention and by creating a platform that identifies students with mental health needs.

School Finance

The state’s school funding model does not fully meet the state’s education needs or account for inflation and human capital shortages. Legislation is needed that improves school funding and student achievement, continues tax relief and protects local authority. Among the district’s 16 recommendations to improve school finance are calls to change the state’s school funding model to be based on enrollment instead of attendance and adjust the basic allotment for inflation.

Human Capital

School districts across the state are facing increasing difficulty filling all positions, from teachers and substitutes to bus drivers and food service workers. The state can establish policies and provide funding to help alleviate the staffing shortages. The 88th legislature should fund a teacher certification loan program, continue efforts to increase access to affordable health care for district employees and make state-funded teacher incentive programs accessible to all teachers in the state.

Unfinished Learning

The unfinished learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is real. 91��Ƭ�� has addressed it head on, and the district’s students are making tremendous progress. Still, there is work to be done. The state legislature should help by sustaining funding for extended learning opportunities for students once federal funding ends and revamping the accountability system to reduce an over-reliance on STAAR testing.

Parental Rights

91��Ƭ�� believes parents are critical partners with the school district in the education of their children and encourages active parental involvement in both creating and implementing its educational programs. The 88th Texas Legislature should protect those rights by maintaining the rights of parents already established by Texas Education Code (TEC) Chapter 26.

Learn about 91��Ƭ��’s legislative priorities

Ryan PIERCE — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 14:27:57 +0000

The 87^thSession of the Texas Legislature lasted quite a bit longer than normal. The regular session concluded on May 31, 2021, but three special sessions called by Governor Greg Abbott kept the legislators in Austin well into the fall.

But it’s over now, so it’s time to assess the impact on school districts. Back in the spring, 91��Ƭ�� shared its legislative priorities for the session with a series of articles that examined four of the most important items. Here is a recap of how those four priorities fared in the 87^th legislative session. (Learn more about the 91��Ƭ��'s legislative priorities.)

91��Ƭ�� Legislative Priority A

Allocate state funds to ensure that public education is not disrupted due to financial hardships created by the global health crisis

When COVID-19 hit the United States in early 2020, it brought school districts all kinds of uncertainty. 91��Ƭ�� was faced with many unexpected expenses in technology, food service, personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies and much more. Most of these expenses had to be paid immediately with no guarantee of reimbursement. And uncertainty surrounding the State of Texas’ tax revenue and budget, combined with an unforeseen reduction in enrollment in school districts across the state, fueled concern that districts would not receive the projected state aid they had budgeted for.

91��Ƭ��’s legislative priority A was written with these concerns in mind and asked the State of Texas to hold school districts harmless, meaning that the state should fund school districts at the levels planned for before the pandemic.��

“This priority fared well,” said 91��Ƭ��’s chief financial officer Darla Moss. “The state held us harmless through the entire year.”

The state used the first two rounds of federal COVID-relief funds, known as ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief), to hold school districts harmless, both in 2020 and 2021. Then, in the spring of 2021, districts received additional financial assistance from a third round of federal ESSER funds to specifically help students overcome the learning gap caused by the pandemic.

91��Ƭ�� Legislative Priority B

Identify state revenue sources to sustain the finance system authorized through HB 3 and to continue buying down school district M&O tax rates.

��The school funding system in Texas was overhauled in 2019 with House Bill 3. Designed to reduce property tax rates while increasing compensation for school district employees, the goals were positive and necessary. However, achieving those goals required additional funding from the state.

The system put in place with HB 3 in 2019 is beneficial for the community in reducing school tax rates for homeowners. Though lower tax rates generate less revenue for school districts, under HB 3, the state makes up the difference.

91��Ƭ��’s priority B asked the state to maintain the system it created in 2019, so that local homeowners can continue to get property tax relief and school districts can continue to receive the same level of funding. The legislature did just that. It funded the basic allotment per student as set by HB 3 and left the property tax compression schedule in place.

While priority B fared well in 2021, it will remain important for future legislative sessions. To ensure school districts are adequately funded while simultaneously reducing property taxes, the state must identify revenue sources to sustain the finance system.

91��Ƭ�� Legislative Priority F

Identify effective solutions and appropriate ongoing funding for identifying and serving students with mental health needs.

91��Ƭ�� has made student mental health a priority and asked the state to provide resources and policies to support this effort both here and across Texas.

The district takes a two-pronged approach to assist students with mental health needs. First, through the social and emotional learning department, it seeks to proactively reach all students and teachers and equip them with the knowledge, curriculum and resources they need to support their mental wellbeing. Second, in the security department, a threat assessment team identifies students who might pose a threat to themselves or others and then works to provide these students with whatever resources they need to cope and recover.

While student mental health was addressed in some legislation in 2021, nothing the legislature passed has had a significant impact on the 91��Ƭ��’s efforts. The district’s commitment to mental health remains as steadfast as ever though, especially in the wake of COVID-19, and was even included in its new strategic plan.

Though the 87th legislative session did not positively impact the district’s social and emotional learning department, SEL director Luis Valdespino and his team have been relentless in pursuing their vision that “all students will possess the social and emotional skills necessary to maintain self-worth and to thrive in their communities.”

“During the pandemic, we’ve really escalated our counselors’ availability,” Valdespino said. “We’ve increased SEL resources for all grade levels to help our students grow in the competencies: 1) self-awareness, 2) self-management, 3) social awareness, 4) relationship skills and 5) responsible decision making.”

While the SEL department hasn’t missed a beat, 91��Ƭ��’s security department has suffered from the state’s failure to provide funding for the Multidisciplinary Threat Assessment Team (MTAT).

The main goal of the MTAT is to promote a safe school environment by identifying at-risk students who may present a public safety concern, assess their risk for engaging in violence or other harmful activities, and identify intervention strategies to assist them in being productive students. Even though the MTAT is mandated by the state, the state provides no funding for it.

Dr. Nkechi Madueke, 91��Ƭ��’s coordinator of the Multidisciplinary Threat Assessment Team, considers the legislature’s efforts in this area to be a failure.

“The increase in mental health needs for our students, families and staff has been incredible, most likely due to the impact of the pandemic, and the state has provided no relief,” she said.

With no funding, the 91��Ƭ��’s MTAT lost a valuable team member. A grant in 2018 got the program off the ground in 91��Ƭ�� and provided the salaries for the MTAT members. However, the grant expired at the end of 2021. Arlington Police Department has absorbed the cost for its responsibilities and 91��Ƭ�� is taking on the district’s related salary and expenses, but the funding for a representative from MHMR (My Health My Resources of Tarrant County) ended and she has been lost from the team.

“This unfunded mandate really hampers what the state is wanting to accomplish,” said David Stevens, 91��Ƭ�� director or security. “It’s a great idea, but by not having the money, you can’t build the teams you need.”

91��Ƭ�� Legislative Priority G

Ensure the clear direction about governance and authority for decisions in Texas public schools as established in the limitation on authority section in Texas Education Code § 7.003 that states “An educational function not specifically delegated to the agency [Texas Education Agency] or the board [State Board of Education] under this code is reserved to and shall be performed by school districts or open-enrollment charter schools” is respected in all proposed legislation

Legislative priority G reflects 91��Ƭ��’s stance that school districts in Texas should be run and managed at the local level. Protecting local authority empowers school districts to find and implement policies and solutions that work best in their area.

This principle of local authority is widely recognized and even codified in Texas law. However, there are bills every legislative session, along with moves made by the Commissioner of Education – who heads the TEA – that aim to take some control away from districts and give it to the TEA.

��The 87^th legislative session was no different and produced both positives and negatives for local authority.

“I think it was a mixed bag,” said 91��Ƭ�� Trustee Justin Chapa, “like most legislative sessions.”

On the positive side, Chapa was pleased that legislation that would have restricted school districts from hiring legislative consultants did not pass. School board trustees are volunteers who must deal with a host of complicated topics, including school finance and accountability. 91��Ƭ��, like other districts, hire legislative consultants to help school boards navigate issues like these and communicate their needs and priorities with Austin.

“That would really weaken local authority by making it a lot harder for us to do our jobs in an informed way,” Chapa said.

On the negative side, Chapa expressed concern over the vague language in new rules regarding curriculum. The state’s new directives are not fully understood yet and have caused confusion and concern among some teachers and curriculum specialists over how they can write lessons and teach them. It’s another example of the state restricting what the locally elected school boards and local teachers can do.��

Overall, this session continued the legislative trend of greater state control and expanded TEA authority for decisions that are better made at the district level. This issue will continue to be significant and topical in the 88th Session of the Texas Legislature.

LEARN ABOUT ARLINGTON ISD’S LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

Ryan PIERCE — Tue, 25 May 2021 21:15:31 +0000

The 87th Texas Legislature convened on Jan. 12, 2021, and will adjourn May 31, 2021. The legislature meets every two years to set the state’s budget and consider and implement new legislation. For each legislative session, the 91��Ƭ�� issues a legislative agenda with a series of priorities that are important to the district and public education in Texas. The district shares the agenda and priorities with our elected officials and seeks their support.

��The article below is the fifth in a series designed to share and explain the district’s legislative priorities with our stakeholders. This story addresses Legislative Priority G. For more information on all the priorities and to read the entire legislative agenda, please visit aisd.net/district/legislative-agenda.

91��Ƭ�� Legislative Priority G

Ensure the clear direction about governance and authority for decisions in Texas public schools as established in the limitation on authority section in Texas Education Code that states “An educational function not specifically delegated to the agency [Texas Education Agency] or the board [State Board of Education] under this code is reserved to and shall be performed by school districts or open-enrollment charter schools” is respected in all proposed legislation

91��Ƭ�� believes that school districts in Texas should be run and managed at the local level. Protecting local authority empowers school districts to find and implement policies and solutions that work best in their area.

State and district roles

The state does have an important role to play in education. That role is performed by the State Board of Education (SBOE) and the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The SBOE’s function is to set statewide policy by adopting the curriculum, assessments and programs for the state. The TEA’s job then is to implement and administer the curriculum and policies established by the SBOE.

Their role is not to micromanage or govern districts. That responsibility belongs to the democratically elected board of trustees and administration for each school district.

“Historically, local school districts have had the biggest say in how education is conducted in their communities,” said Justin Chapa, 91��Ƭ�� trustee and the chair of the Board’s governance committee.

Districts are all different

There is good reason for letting local school districts govern themselves. No two school districts are exactly the same.

Districts vary in numbers of students and their physical settings – urban, suburban or rural. They have differences in population demographics, socioeconomics, resources, needs, weather and more. The unique characteristics of each area shape the school districts, their students and staff. The challenges and realities 91��Ƭ�� faces are not identical to those in Houston, El Paso, Midland or even our nearby neighbors like Dallas and Fort Worth. And likewise, the best policies and most effective solutions for 91��Ƭ�� are often not the same as those in other districts.

“There’s almost 1,100 school districts in Texas and we’re different than the vast majority of them,” Chapa said. “It is helpful for us to be able to determine more things in terms of how it affects us as opposed to a one size fits all solution.”

In most cases, the local school board and administration understand their district’s unique characteristics, their students and staff, and their challenges and opportunities better than anyone at the state level. They are therefore best suited to guide and direct their own schools.

Local authority under attack

This principle of local authority is widely recognized and even codified in Texas law. Texas Education Code § 7.003 states, “An educational function not specifically delegated to the agency [Texas Education Agency] or the board [State Board of Education] under this code is reserved to and shall be performed by school districts or open-enrollment charter schools.”

However, there are bills every legislative session, along with moves made by the Commissioner of Education – who heads the TEA – that aim to take some control away from districts and give it to the TEA.

“What we’re facing now, and what I think has been a trend over at least the last 10 if not 20 years, is a gradual chipping away at school districts’ authority to do a whole host of things, from the relatively benign to some pretty substantive matters,” Chapa said.

91��Ƭ��’s legislative priority G comes out of this concern and asks the state legislature to honor and protect the principle of local authority for school districts. Taking control away from the local district, where the problems, dynamics and solutions are best understood, can actually impede progress and introduce new problems.

Local authority in 91��Ƭ��’s legislative agenda

Our legislative agenda includes seven ways the legislature can protect local authority:

1. Recognize TEC § 7.003 as the statutory basis for governance and authority for decision-making in Texas.
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2. Review administrative rules established by the Commissioner of Education to ensure alignment with legislative intent and limit the authority of the Commissioner of Education to unilaterally establish administrative rules, guidelines and procedures.
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3. Prohibit the Commissioner of Education from unilaterally displacing local elected school boards, except as may be temporarily necessary to address cases of severe, system-wide misconduct.
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4. Reject legislation that expands required ballot language, mandates November election dates or requires a super majority for school bond and tax rate elections.
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5. Reject legislation that would limit the ability of districts to join organizations that advocate on behalf of school districts or other public entities.
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6. Provide relief from existing unfunded state mandates and reject new unfunded state mandates.
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7. Amend the Texas Open Meetings Act to permanently allow local boards or individual trustees to attend meetings virtually through mechanisms found to be effective during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The local board of trustees, working in line with state standards and in partnership with the SBOE and TEA, is most often best suited to govern and manage the school district, identify local challenges and issues, and implement solutions and policies that work best for its local population. The Texas legislature should ensure the principle of local authority is protected.

Learn about 91��Ƭ��’s legislative priorities

Ryan PIERCE — Fri, 21 May 2021 15:26:20 +0000

��The article below is the fourth in a series designed to share and explain the district’s legislative priorities with our stakeholders. This story addresses Legislative Priority F. For more information on all the priorities and to read the entire legislative agenda, please visit aisd.net/district/legislative-affairs.

91��Ƭ�� Legislative Priority F

Identify effective solutions and appropriate ongoing funding for identifying and serving students with mental health needs.

91��Ƭ�� has made student mental health a priority and asks the state to provide resources and policies to support this effort both here and across Texas.

“We know our students have a lot of things to deal with, and even more during COVID-19,” said 91��Ƭ�� Board of Trustees president Kecia Mays. “It is crucial for a district to consider the mental health needs of our students and staff and do what we can to promote their holistic health. It’s imperative for the wellbeing and safety of everyone.”

What 91��Ƭ�� does for student mental health

Second, in the security department, a threat assessment team identifies students who might pose a threat to themselves or others and then works to provide these students with whatever resources they need to cope and recover.

1) Social and Emotional Learning

91��Ƭ��’s social and emotional learning (SEL) department was created several years ago with a vision that “all students will possess the social and emotional skills necessary to maintain self-worth and to thrive in their communities.”

“When we use the term self-worth, that means that they are mentally healthy,” said Luis Valdespino, senior director of the district’s social and emotional learning department. “To do that, we have to teach them the skills to be mentally healthy.”

To teach those skills, the SEL department is developing and implementing curriculum for students and strategies for teachers that address five competencies: 1) self-awareness, 2) self-management, 3) social awareness, 4) relationship skills and 5) responsible decision making.

“Our goal is for our kids to attain all of these competencies through direct instruction and learning opportunities,” Valdespino said.

In addition to the curriculum piece directed toward all students, the SEL department also provides additional resources and services for students with individual needs. School counselors take the lead for many of these efforts.

“During the pandemic, we’ve really escalated our counselors’ availability,” Valdespino said.

New hotlines were started to assist students and parents with mental health needs and community resources. A referral process was initiated for students who need counseling, and a new after-school-hours counseling clinic is starting this month. Through the clinic, students and staff can receive in-person or virtual counseling from 91��Ƭ�� counselors and staff who are licensed therapists at no cost. Other initiatives include an app coming next school year that will allow teachers to survey students about their social and emotional learning and immediately offer intervention videos based on responses.

Another example of the resources the district offers comes from the student outreach services (SOS), an arm of the SEL department. Social workers and counselors from SOS assist homeless students and connect their families with resources outside the district.

To learn more about SEL, click here to visit the department webpage.

2) Security and threat assessments

Two years ago, the 91��Ƭ�� formed a partnership with the and (MHMR) and launched a Multidisciplinary Threat Assessment Team (MTAT). The main goal of the MTAT is to promote a safe school environment by identifying at-risk students who may present a public safety concern, assess their risk for engaging in violence or other harmful activities, and identify intervention strategies to assist them in being productive students.

The MTAT includes a representative from 91��Ƭ��, a social worker from the APD and a social worker from MHMR. Together the team oversees and provides support for campus level teams that work directly with and assess at-risk students.

If a student makes a threat, exhibits threatening behavior or displays suicidal ideation, a thorough assessment is conducted of the student’s needs along with his or her family’s needs. The MTAT then works to make sure those needs are met.

“This team is going to dive in and do whatever it takes,” said David Stevens, 91��Ƭ�� director of security.

The MTAT has many community partners that help provide whatever resources are needed, whether it’s for mental health, physical wellbeing, food security, social issues and more.

“Even if they need housing, we have resources for that,” Stevens said.

The goal is to restore the student.

“It’s not punitive,” said Dr. Nkechi Madueke, 91��Ƭ��’s multidisciplinary student supports coordinator and leader of the MTAT team. “It’s about rehabilitation.”

And it’s working.

“We do have a lot of students who are getting more resources outside of school,” Madueke said. “The families are getting support. Students are getting in to see doctors or therapists or whatever they need. They are getting more support than they might have in the past because we are identifying them earlier.”

91��Ƭ��’s MTAT is also ahead of the curve.

A year after the MTAT was established in Arlington, the Texas legislature made this type of program mandatory at every school district in Texas.

“So many districts are still trying to figure out how to do this. Our team is already there,” Stevens said.

And many districts are now looking to 91��Ƭ�� as the model to copy.

But there is a big problem. The mandate from the state to develop threat assessment teams is unfunded. The state provides no money to support the program.

For Arlington, a grant in 2018 got the program off the ground and provided the salaries for the MTAT members. However, the grant expires at the end of this year. APD will absorb the cost for their role and 91��Ƭ�� will take on the district’s related salary and expenses, but the funding for the MHMR representative will expire and she may be lost from the team.

“It’s going to hamper the team,” Stevens said. “This unfunded mandate really hampers what the state is wanting to accomplish. It’s a great idea, but by not having the money, you can’t build the teams you need.”

What the legislature can do

91��Ƭ��’s legislative agenda offers three ways the legislature can help:

1) Work with school districts to create a platform that identifies students with mental health needs.

As all districts are now required to have threat assessment teams, a statewide platform with shared information would help districts better provide services to students in need and promote safety and security in all of our schools.

2) Provide appropriate ongoing funding for identification, services and supports for students with mental health needs.

Threat assessment teams are required by the state but are unfunded. Funding is needed for the MTAT to be fully staffed and operate effectively as intended.

Additional funding for social and emotional learning would be helpful as well. Many of 91��Ƭ��’s SEL efforts, including the additional resources offered during COVID, like the counseling and resources hotlines, currently receive no state funding.

3) Allow school districts flexibility to determine how safety and mental health funds are spent in order to best meet local needs.

School districts are all different and have different needs. It is imperative that districts have the flexibility to develop and fund programs that work best for our area and our students.

Learn about 91��Ƭ��’s legislative priorities

Ryan PIERCE — Thu, 20 May 2021 14:46:33 +0000

The article below is the third in a series designed to share and explain the district’s legislative priorities with our stakeholders. This story addresses Legislative Priority B. For more information on all the priorities and to read the entire legislative agenda, please visit aisd.net/district/legislative-agenda.

91��Ƭ�� Legislative Priority B

Identify state revenue sources to sustain the finance system authorized through HB 3 and to continue buying down school district M&O tax rates.

House Bill 3, approved and signed into law in 2019, overhauled school finance in Texas. While far from perfect, the legislation did improve the state’s school funding system. Designed to reduce property tax rates while increasing compensation for school district employees, the goals were good and necessary. However, achieving those goals will require additional funding from the state. The Texas legislature needs to identify revenue sources to sustain this new finance system instituted under HB 3.

School District Finance

To begin to understand HB 3, you need a basic understanding of school finance in Texas. School finance in Texas is complex. However, funding for school districts comes primarily from two sources: local property taxes and state aid.

PROPERTY TAXES

School property taxes in Texas consist of two separate tax rates: 1) Maintenance and Operations (M&O) and 2) Interest and Sinking (I&S).

The M&O rate provides funds for school district operations, including salaries, student programming, facility maintenance and more.

The I&S rate is used to pay off debt and cannot be used to subsidize maintenance and operations. This is the rate that applies to bonds and is used to pay them off.

STATE AID

The state supplements tax revenue with an allocation based on student attendance data and demographics. So, for each student who attends, the school district receives a “basic allotment.”

However, the amount of state aid varies according to the level of tax revenue. So, the more that property tax revenue goes up, the less money the state sends to the district. Even though property tax revenue may increase with new construction and rising property values, the school district’s overall revenue does not increase.

House Bill 3

House Bill 3 did a lot of things, but it kept the basic school finance model in place – that school district revenue comes from two sources, local tax revenue and state aid. Highlights of the bill included full-day pre-K for eligible four-year-olds, requirements to increase teacher compensation, and an increase to the “basic allotment.”

Most importantly for taxpayers, HB 3 reduced local school district tax rates and implemented a plan to continue reducing – or “compressing” – tax rates on an annual basis. For 91��Ƭ��, HB 3 reduced the M&O tax rate the first year by $0.07 and could continue to compress it in future years.

That is a good thing, and 91��Ƭ�� supports the state reducing – or “buying down” – local school district property tax rates. However, when tax rates go down, that means school district revenue may go down as well. If the tax revenue goes down – and continues to go down each year – the state will need to make up the difference.

HB 3 made an attempt to make up the difference in the first year with a small increase in the basic allotment. But now, and in coming years, as tax rates continue to be compressed, inflation increases and school district employees need cost-of-living compensation increases, the state will need to increase its funding for school districts.

It is out of this reality that Priority B comes, that the state identifies revenue sources to sustain the finance system authorized through HB 3, including buying down school district M&O tax rates.

“How are they going to fund raising the basic allotment?” said Darla Moss, 91��Ƭ�� chief financial officer. “If they’re going to continue to buy down the M&O rate, then other sources of revenue should be identified.”

Not the fund balance

Those “other sources” should not be school districts’ fund balances. Some in the Texas legislature have suggested drawing from school districts’ fund balances as the way to generate the revenue the state needs to fund education.

That idea is based on the misnomer that school districts have fund balances just sitting somewhere unused and unneeded. That’s simply not the case. The amount of money that districts need in a fund balance varies based on the unique circumstances of each district. Here are just three of the reasons 91��Ƭ��’s fund balance is vital to our financial health.

Like many other districts, 91��Ƭ��’s fiscal year begins July 1. However, local property taxes don’t arrive until December. That means districts need five months of operating expenses on hand to cover costs from July through November.
COVID-19 is one of the most recent, tangible reasons why a strong fund balance is necessary. The pandemic introduced a host of unexpected costs that all districts paid to ensure uninterrupted services. While a pandemic is rare, emergencies and natural disasters are not. In the last year, 91��Ƭ�� has dealt with a tornado that touched down and the statewide winter storm that left 28 of our schools with significant damage. The fund balance ensures we can make immediate repairs in those situations and continue serving our students and community no matter what.
A strong fund balance grants a district a better credit rating. In 91��Ƭ��, we leveraged our strong financial position and policies to gain low interest rates for our bond. In our most recent bond sale, we achieved interest rates significantly lower than projected, which will mean a cost savings of millions of dollars. When we have a strong financial foundation, we can pay down our debt quickly and achieve the best financial outcomes for our district.

Now what?

HB 3 is not without flaws. It attempts to create equity for districts across the state but fails to recognize that districts are not all the same.

“Every school district is different,” Moss said. “and those differences should be taken into consideration.”

Even still, HB 3 is a significant improvement and is particularly beneficial for our community in reducing school tax rates. The system needs to be sustained, which means the state has to provide more money for school districts.

To increase the allotment and ensure school districts are adequately funded while simultaneously reducing property taxes, the state needs to identify revenue sources – apart from using district fund balances – to sustain the finance system.

Learn about 91��Ƭ��’s legislative priorities

Ryan PIERCE — Wed, 19 May 2021 16:59:34 +0000

COVID-19 has been expensive for school districts

��The article below is the second in a series designed to share and explain the district’s legislative priorities with our stakeholders. This story addresses Legislative Priority A. For more information on all the priorities and to read the entire legislative agenda, please visit aisd.net/district/legislative-affairs.

91��Ƭ�� Legislative Priority A

Allocate state funds to ensure that public education is not disrupted due to financial hardships created by the global health crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit everyone hard, including school districts. 91��Ƭ�� was and continues to be faced with many unexpected expenses in technology, food service, personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies and much more. Most of these expenses were paid immediately with no guarantee of reimbursement. Plus, uncertainty surrounding the State of Texas’ tax revenue and budget, combined with an unforeseen reduction in enrollment in school districts across the state, fueled concern that districts might not receive the amount of state aid they had budgeted for.

91��Ƭ��’s legislative priority A was written with these concerns in mind. It asks the State of Texas to hold school districts harmless, meaning that the state should fund school districts at the levels planned for before the pandemic.��

COVID is Expensive

COVID-19 has been expensive from the outset in March 2020. For fiscal year 2019-2020, COVID expenses for 91��Ƭ�� totaled more than $10.9 million. It then jumped to nearly $20 million at last count for this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Many of the expenses were urgent and unexpected, and many were not in the budget. Immediately upon school closures in March 2020, 91��Ƭ�� started distributing meals to any child under 18 and quickly built a $6 million deficit in food and nutrition services. Technology costs soared as Chromebooks and iPads were distributed to every student who needed one, and the district provided hotspots for families without internet access. Additional cleaning supplies and PPE were also purchased and distributed or installed.

COVID interrupted everything, but 91��Ƭ�� made sure there was no interruption in feeding students and providing basic services.

“COVID caused needs that couldn’t wait,” said 91��Ƭ�� superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos. “Even though we didn’t know if we would get reimbursed, we paid for these things right away because we’re committed to ensuring our students are fed and get the technology and services they need.”

Payroll has been expensive, too. That includes paying for a higher number of substitutes than usual when teachers and staff were ill or quarantined due to COVID. It also includes paying employee salaries even when some couldn’t work due to the COVID closures. The district decided to pay employees like bus drivers, custodians, secretaries and more who were sidelined while all campuses were shut down. It was not only the right thing to do for those employees and their families, it was also necessary for the district to retain them. The job market for those employees is competitive and the district couldn’t afford to lose them.

Enrollment challenge

COVID-19 has caused enrollment in 91��Ƭ�� and most districts across the nation to go down. In 91��Ƭ��, the projected enrollment for 2020-2021 was 59,117, but the actual enrollment at the end of the first semester was 56,747. While that 4% drop is not as high as many Texas districts have faced, it is significant and held the potential to drive down state funding at a time when COVID was causing so many additional expenses.

This is because a large part of school district revenue comes from state aid. The amount of that state aid is tied directly to student attendance. For each student, a school district receives an allotment from the state.��

When school districts set their budgets, they can’t know what their enrollment will be, so they use projections of student enrollment to build the budget. In normal years, the projections are typically very accurate.��

When COVID hit and drove down enrollment, 91��Ƭ��, joined by most districts in the state, faced a potential budget shortfall. If the state funded districts based on actual enrollment, instead of the projected enrollment 91��Ƭ�� had budgeted and already staffed for, the district would have to make large cuts and likely lay off teachers and staff.

Legislative Priority A addresses this concern by asking the state to sustain funding at pre-COVID levels and hold districts harmless for the unpredictable drop in enrollment.

State Revenue

Legislative Priority A also comes out of concern over the State of Texas’ own revenue shortfall during the pandemic. The state’s tax revenue took a double punch from COVID and a concurrent oil and gas crisis.

When coronavirus shut down many business, restaurants and tourism, state sales tax revenue plummeted. To make matters worse, the pandemic coincided with an oil dispute between Saudi Arabi and Russia that resulted in oversupply at the same time that COVID-19 was driving down demand. The shockwaves meant oil and gas prices went down, too, and left Texas oil and gas firms struggling, thousands of workers in the sector laid off, and the revenue the state makes off production and sales in steep decline.

The reduction in state revenue forced cuts throughout the state and led to concerns that the Texas Education Agency and Texas legislature might not fund education at the level it had committed to.

While state budget cuts were unquestionably required by the crises, 91��Ƭ�� believes education is not the place for it. Educating and providing for our students needs to be a top priority of the state, and full funding is critical.

Hold Harmless

So far, the State of Texas has held school districts harmless and provided the opportunity for full funding for last school year and much of this year.

TEA held school districts harmless, meaning they funded them at their projected enrollment, for the 2019-2020 school year without any stipulations.

That was the case again for the 2020-2021 school year during the first two six-week periods. After that, stipulations have been required. Starting with the third six-week period, districts had to offer in-person school to receive full funding. And for the final three six-week periods, districts must meet one of two requirements. They must have 80% of students attending school in-person during the last six-week period, or their in-person attendance must be higher than it was in the fall.

That means funding for 91��Ƭ�� for the final three six-week periods of this school year is still up in the air. The district does not have 80% of students attending school in-person, so we will need to have higher in-person attendance during this final six-week period than we had in the fall, which was 38.1%.

Still Uncertainty

We are grateful that TEA and the Texas legislature have made it possible for school districts to be “held harmless,” but there is still work to do. As the 2020-2021 school year wraps up in conjunction with the 87^th Texas legislative session, there is still uncertainty surrounding school district funding both for the end of this school year and next, so we continue to ask the state to ensure public education funding is not disrupted due to financial hardships created by COVID-19.

Learn more about 91��Ƭ��'s legislative agenda. Plus, read about why the district is involved in legislative affairs and check back tomorrow for an article on legislative priority B.

91��Ƭ�� proactive in legislative affairs

Ryan PIERCE — Tue, 18 May 2021 15:38:58 +0000

The article below is the first in a series designed to share and explain the district’s legislative priorities with our stakeholders. This story explains the district’s interest and involvement in legislative affairs. For more information on all of the 91��Ƭ��’s legislative priorities and to read the entire legislative agenda, please visit aisd.net/legislative-affairs.

91��Ƭ�� takes a proactive approach toward legislative affairs. Led by the Board of Trustees, the district not only pays attention to the legislation and policies coming out of Austin related to education, it also shares its opinion and perspective on many of them with local and state legislators.

Why is 91��Ƭ�� involved in legislative affairs?

Legislative affairs are extremely relevant for school districts as the legislature’s actions have a direct impact on our students, teachers and staff.

“What happens in Austin affects us in so many different ways,” said Justin Chapa, 91��Ƭ�� trustee and the chair of the board’s governance committee.

The Texas legislature establishes rules and policies that impact nearly every aspect of a school district, from school finance and district accountability ratings to student assessments like STAAR testing and even curriculum offerings. It decides when school districts can hold elections and what the language on a ballot must be. It even controls health insurance and retirement programs for school district employees, and on and on.

“We are advocates for our students and employees,” said 91��Ƭ�� Board of Trustees president Kecia Mays. “We want the best educational experience and opportunities for each of our students. To do that, we need Austin to establish policies and provide resources that are in the best interests of students and teachers. So, it makes sense for us to talk with our legislators about the important issues facing our district and let them know how they can help support us.”

What does 91��Ƭ�� do about legislative affairs?

It all starts with the Board of Trustees governance committee and senior administrators keeping track of legislative affairs and governmental issues. They do this with assistance from a legislative consultant based in Austin.

Trustees and senior administrators also make a point of meeting with our local legislative delegation. At least once a year, all the legislators who represent the 91��Ƭ�� area are invited for a discussion and update on the district. This past year the meeting was held via Zoom, but the previous year it was at the 91��Ƭ�� Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center. Trustees and senior administrators also meet with individual legislators from time to time to discuss our interests and priorities.

When it comes time for a legislative session in Austin, which happens every two years, 91��Ƭ�� develops and shares a legislative agenda and priorities for the session. This document is essentially a list of the topics important to 91��Ƭ�� and our position on them. The agenda is shared with our local legislative delegation and made available to everyone on the district website.

As the legislative session progresses, the district tracks proposed bills related to education. On bills of particular importance, the district will share our support or opposition to the bill through a card or letter delivered to our local legislative delegation.

At times, senior administrators will even travel to Austin to testify on a certain bill or topic. This session, for example, Dr. Kevin Barlow, 91��Ƭ��’s assistant superintendent of research and accountability, gave testimony before the Senate Committee on Education. He spoke in support of Senate Bill 194 about including career and technical education in school accountability.

“Testifying in person in Austin gives us a great opportunity to reach legislators from across the state and make them aware of important issues facing public education,” Barlow said. “Most legislators are not educators, so they need to hear from district personnel to��understand how policies and legislation impact districts and students.”

In the 2019 legislative session, 91��Ƭ�� went a step further. The district crafted a bill, with support from our legislative consultant in Austin, regarding health insurance for school district employees. Texas school districts enrolled in the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) Active Care health insurance program are restricted from offering alternative health care plans. The TRS Active Care plan premiums had become much too expensive for districts and their employees. The bill would have allowed 91��Ƭ�� to leave TRS Active��Care and start a pilot program to obtain more affordable health insurance options for our employees. Texas State Representative Matt Krause, one of our local legislators, sponsored the bill in the Texas House of Representatives.

Does it make an impact?

The district’s legislative efforts do make an impact.

Educating our local legislators about issues facing the district is a big piece of that. 91��Ƭ�� is able to explain to legislators how bills might affect school districts and identify potential unintended consequences. Sharing our support or opposition to a bill helps our legislators make an informed decision on how to vote.

Even when our legislators don’t vote our way and have different views than the district on certain issues, because of our relationship, they at least understand our perspective, and we know theirs. We still find common ground that the legislators are willing to help with.

This year, the impact of COVID-19 on 91��Ƭ�� has been one of the most important discussion points with legislators.

“This session we played a strong role in educating our legislative delegation about how important changes to virtual education going forward are going to be,” Chapa said. “Our delegation was probably more dialed in and engaged on that issue earlier on because we were able to educate them on how virtual education is playing out.”

The district’s health insurance bill in 2019 also made an impact. Although the bill failed to pass, the district’s initiative and leadership on this important issue set the foundation for important changes. TRS has actively partnered with school districts throughout the state and offered a number of Active Care plan improvements and cost efficiencies in this past year.

“Our partnership with TRS has been encouraging,” said Scott Kahl, 91��Ƭ��assistant��superintendent of��human��resources. “TRS has shown the initiative to listen to its key Active Care stakeholders and make plan modifications to address member needs.��We recognize there is more to do, and we are hopeful that our positive relationship with TRS will contribute to additional improvements and cost efficiencies for our employees.”

“Our legislative efforts are on behalf of our students, employees and community,” said 91��Ƭ�� superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos. “That is the framework that guides our agenda and communication with legislators. We believe that by being proactive and engaged, we can help our leaders in Austin make decisions and policies that will benefit our students and teachers here in Arlington and throughout Texas.”

Learn more

91��Ƭ��’s entire legislative agenda is available at aisd.net/legislative-agenda. Learn more each day this week as articles about four of our legislative priorities are posted here at aisd.net.