August 17, 2021 — Special Meeting
Conroe ISD Board Meeting — 2021-08-17
Special Meeting — Unofficial Notes
Based on auto-generated transcript. Not an official record.
Generated 2026-03-28 19:40 UTC
Unofficial Meeting Notes
Conroe Independent School District – Board of Trustees
Special Meeting – August 17, 2021
These are unofficial notes based on an auto-generated transcript and may contain errors or omissions.
Public Hearing: 2021-2022 Proposed Budget
Presenter: Mr. Rice, Chief Financial Officer
Financial Highlights & Awards
- CISD received a Superior rating from the State's Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) for the year ended August 31, 2019.
- Received a clean audit from independent auditors (Weaver).
- CISD is one of only two ISDs to receive a 5-star rating all 12 years from Texas Smart Schools (a program rating schools on financial and academic performance).
- CISD was the first district in the state to earn transparency awards for finance, debt, and purchasing presentations.
Budget Calendar & Process
- Budget workshops began in February 2021 with legislative updates, property value projections, and budget goals.
- Compensation plan developed with TASB (Texas Association of School Boards) input; Mr. Moore participated in the compensation committee.
- Benefit plan design approved at the April 20 regular board meeting; Mr. Hubert participated in the employee benefits committee.
- Compensation plan approved at the May 4 special board meeting.
- Preliminary budget presented at the June 15 regular board meeting.
- District Level Planning and Decision Making Committee met July 14 and voted unanimously to recommend the budget to the board.
- CISD is one of few districts providing two public hearings on the budget and tax rate.
Key Budget Drivers
Enrollment:
- Budgeted enrollment: 66,298 students with an ADA (Average Daily Attendance) of 94.2%.
- Enrollment is the most critical and most challenging estimate due to ongoing COVID-19 impacts.
- In 2020-2021, the snapshot date showed 64,565 students — 1,733 below budget; ended year at 65,360 (growth of 795 during the year).
Federal Relief Funding (ESSER):
- ESSER III: $64.7 million allocation, includes $12.5 million reserved for possible attendance loss in 2021-22 due to COVID; 20% required for learning loss.
- ESSER II: $28.8 million allocation (net revenue depends on hold-harmless calculations).
- ESSER I: 100% supplanted by the state; district received no allocation.
Property Values:
- Certified property values grew 7.46%, adding ~$3 billion for a total of $43.1 billion.
- Due to HB 3 and the Robin Hood program, this increase provides no net new revenue to the general fund.
- Property value growth is the sole revenue source for the debt service fund.
Tax Rate:
- Projected at $1.176 — a decrease of nearly 10.5 cents since 2018-2019.
- CISD has the third-lowest tax rate in the greater Houston area.
Revenue Estimates
| Item | Amount |
|------|--------|
| Local revenue from assessed value growth | +$0.38M |
| State funding decrease (Robin Hood/HB 3 offset) | -$1.38M |
| State funding increase (fast growth & special programs) | +$2.77M |
| Interest revenue decrease | -$1.6M |
| TRS On-Behalf (required booking entry) | +$2.5M |
| Total estimated revenue increase | +$3.67M |
Compensation Plan (Approved Previously)
- 3% raise for all employees
- 5% pay increase for bus drivers; starting pay of $18/hour
- All hourly employees to make at least $12/hour
- New teacher starting salary: $58,500
- Cost of pay increases: $12.5 million
New Personnel
- 35.5 new positions for Hope Elementary and the JET Center (19.5 teachers, 3 administrators, 6 professionals, 7 paraprofessionals) — $2.1M
- 42.5 new support positions (primarily transportation and custodial) — $1.5M
- Total: 78 new positions at $3.6M
Expenditure Summary
| Item | Amount |
|------|--------|
| General pay increase | +$12.53M |
| Additional personnel (Hope Elementary & programs) | +$3.6M |
| Retention stipends | +$10.0M |
| Utilities, insurance, supplies | +$0.5M |
| Decrease in capital maintenance fund contribution | -$10.0M |
| TRS On-Behalf offset | +$2.5M |
| Total expenditure increase | +$19.13M |
Retention Stipends ($10 million total)
- October 1: $500 for full-time employees / $250 for part-time
- February 15: Additional stipend contingent on ADA and budget availability
- Described as one-time money — budget-friendly, not a perpetual expenditure
Proposed Budget Summary
| | Amount |
|---|--------|
| Total Estimated Revenue | $586.12M |
| Total Estimated Expenditures | $596.12M |
| COVID Relief Funding Used to Balance | $10.0M |
| Budget balanced | $596.12M |
- Payroll: 89.7% of budget
- Contracted services: 4.7% (includes ~$13M for utilities)
- Supplies & materials: 4.2% (includes bus fuel)
- Equipment & other: 1.4% (includes ~$2.5M property insurance)
Fund Balance
- Current unassigned fund balance: $153.6M (27% of budget)
- Target range: 20-25% of budget (high-end target: $144.2M)
- Amount above target: ~$9.4M available
- Projected fund balance increase: ~$11M
Board Member Questions During Hearing
- Board member asked about campus staffing formulas — Mr. Rice confirmed formulas are starting points and can be adapted based on campus needs (e.g., socioeconomic factors).
- Board member asked about the capital maintenance fund — Mr. Rice confirmed the $50M designation has been met; future additions would come from fund balance.
- Board member asked about scenarios for lower attendance — Mr. Rice stated every 1% drop below 94.2% ADA costs approximately $2.5 million; each student represents roughly $9,000-$10,000/year. The $12.5M ESSER reserve covers approximately 1,200 students; the fund balance exists to cover additional risk.
- Board member confirmed that Robin Hood recapture is tied to property values, not enrollment — meaning the district must return funds regardless of student count changes.
Public Comment on Budget
- No members of the public spoke during the budget public hearing.
Special Meeting – Called to Order at 6:21 PM
Invocation: Mr. Moore
Pledge of Allegiance: Mr. Williams
Citizen Participation (Item 2B)
- No citizens signed up to speak.
Consent Agenda (Item 3)
- Approval of minutes
- Motion: Mr. Prather moved; seconded.
- Vote: Passed unanimously (by show of hands, no opposition noted)
Item 4: Resolution to Provide Additional Paid Local Leave Days
Presenter: Mr. Rice
Details:
- Resolution authorizes 3 additional paid local leave days for employees for the 2021-2022 school year only.
- Purpose: Minimize financial impact on employees required to isolate (10-day recommended isolation for positive COVID-19 cases) while keeping schools open.
- Current leave: 2 paid local leave days + 5 paid state leave days per year.
- Cost if all teachers used all 3 days (including substitute costs): approximately $1.05 million.
- Costs to be paid from ESSER funds (not the general operating budget).
- Board members noted that most other districts already offer 5 local leave days, putting CISD behind peers.
- The resolution applies to 2021-2022 only; future policy modifications (Board Policy DEC) may be considered separately.
Motion: Moved and seconded.
Vote: Passed unanimously (by show of hands, no opposition noted)
Adjournment
- Motion to adjourn made, seconded, and passed unanimously.
Summary of Votes
| Item | Result |
|------|--------|
| Consent Agenda (Minutes) | Passed unanimously |
| Resolution: 3 Additional Paid Local Leave Days | Passed unanimously |
Note: The budget and tax rate were presented for public hearing purposes only at this meeting. Formal adoption is scheduled for the August 17 regular board meeting (this appears to be the same date — the transcript references both August 3 and August 17 at various points, suggesting this public hearing may have occurred at the August 3 meeting with adoption planned for August 17).