CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — West Oso Independent School District has been dealing with a roller coaster budget for years now.
On Monday, Board of Trustees approved a small deficit for the year's budget.
"Right now, districts across the state, many of them, have had to actually adopt huge deficit budgets," Kimberly Moore, West Oso ISD Superintendent said.
Over a year ago, a drop in enrollment, as a result of the pandemic, lef to a $2 millon shortfall for the district. The district had to cut corners and adjust the budget.
"I'm happy to report that after the struggles that we had last year, we're finally in a stable place," Moore said.
The district adopted a trimmed down budget for this school year. Moore said they are also anticipating help from tax payers.
"The district is also going for what's called a tax ratification election," she said. "Taxes for most property owners and homeowners are going to go to down significantly this year due to $100,000 homestead exemption."
If Texas voters approve the proposed property tax changes, it would mean an extra $900,000 for the district. With that extra money, West Oso ISD would increase teacher pay by 1%.
"Currently, it went from $50,000 beginning to $57,500 at the far end of the scale," Moore said. "The new budget goes from $50,300 to $64,975. If you've been here longer, you're going to see a larger percentage increase because of us broadening the salary schedule."
Although the district has paid the state back millions of dollars in the past, they insisted they're going to continue managing their money in the best way.
The anticipation is that the future of the district's funds will change if voters approve the property tax proposal.
