EDLD 5342 Part 4 Reflection

Reflection: I found all the numbers a little overwhelming, but I remember Dr. Lu said not to delve too deeply in the numbers and she wanted us to get the financial big picture. Looking at the local revenues that come in and comparing it to the state funding was a real eye-opener. With such a big number of students falling into the economically disadvantaged (74.7%) and at-risk (51%) catagories in a propert-poor district, there is no wonder why law suits are being raised to make sure students have an equal opportunity to succeed. It is imperative we do what we can to assure our students are as educated as possible to add to the wealth and economic development of our state and our country.

EDLD 5342

Socorro ISD Source of Funding and Allocation

Socorro ISD’s local property tax for 2010-2011 budget was $85,043,173 with other immediate and local taxes of $4,563,347. Its M&O tax rate is .0946% when added to the I&S of .264% equals 1.18%, .05% less than the state average. (TEA) Local revenues cover 23.87% of the general fund, while state funding covers 75.55% with additional allocated funds of $214,492,504. Federal funds are an additional 1,640,000 at .58% of the total general fund revenues. From local sources by category: businesses- $2,071,017,068 (25.2%), residences- $5,718,669,624 (69.6%), land- $391,198,802 (4.8%), and other- $38,198,802 (.5%).  High numbers are reflected in economically disadvantaged (74.7%), LEP (21.4%), and At-Risk (51%) which increase the WADA funds. (TEA, Academic)

Actual program expenditures show a direct alignment with WADA funds and special programs, although it is clear some programs are more expensive than others depending on the population served. With 65% ($146,671,399) of expenditures going toward regular education, this reflects the high incidence of economically disadvantaged and at-risk populations in the regular education program that need supplemental approaches to ensure achievement.  Only 3.3% ($7,403,233) of actual expenditures goes toward bilingual programs, even though 20.3% of the student population qualifies. Expenditures for SPED are 13.6% ($30,659,308) for 7.7% of the district’s students, indicating the added expense of specialized personnel and equipment for special education services.

TEA, 2011-2012 Budgeted Financials for Socorro ISD, http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/cgi/sas/broker?_service=marykay&_program=sfadhoc.budget_report_2012.sas&_service=appserv&_debug=0&who_box=&who_list=071909

TEA, Academic Excellence Indicator System, Socorro ISD, http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/cgi/sas/broker