Eanes school district assistant superintendent for business services Larry Keiser told board members Wednesday that a budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year would be ready for approval on Aug. 25.

Total expenses for the district next year are estimated at $119.29 million against expected revenues of $115 million, resulting in a projected deficit of $4.29 million. The dip into the current $31.9 fund balance may not cut quite that deep, according to Kaiser, who said he expects the district may need to draw closer to $3 million from the general fund balance to provide the missing necessary maintenance and operating funds. The reason for the difference in the paper deficit and the actual eventual pull from the fund balance – public school districts are required to estimate expenses high to avoid any shortfall in funding of programs and operations mid-year, Keiser said.

“Our district has a long history of budgeting conservatively,” Keiser said. “Our staff is conservative in spending, and we budget some expenses, like legal fees, high.”

Actual revenues can change during the year, he said.

“A couple of things happen – people don’t spend everything we budget and our revenues change,” Kaiser pointed out. “For example, if our (attendance numbers) go up or go down, our revenues change.”

A large part of the reason for the district deficit next year is the state’s persistent under-funding of public school operating costs. Legislation froze the amount the state contributes to the running of public school districts several years ago, despite the fact that inflation and teacher salary increases force the cost of operation to increase significantly each year. With limits on the property taxes districts can levy on voters, districts have few option other than to look at cutting staff and programs each year.

One sign of the troubled state economy is the falling local real estate market. Revenue from property taxes for the Eanes school district is expected to fall to 94.1 million next year, down 5 percent from the $99.4 million collected last year. The Eanes school district sends most of that money to the state to help fund property-poor school districts.

“Roughly 56 cents of every tax dollar we get currently goes to the state for Robin Hood recapture,” board member Ellen Balthazar pointed out during the meeting.

The school board is also expected to approve the property tax rate for the coming school year on Aug. 25. Administrators are recommending no change to the tax at this time. The current tax rate is $1.2025 per $100 taxable property value, including $1.04 for maintenance and operations and $0.1625 for interest and sinking or debt service. Approval of that tax rate could give the Eanes school district the lowest tax rate in Central Texas, unless the Austin school district comes in slightly lower with a $1.2000 rate.

Board member Clint Sayers said that, while the district’s tax rate may be one of the lowest in the area, housing values are among the highest, still resulting in significant taxes for local residents and business owners.

The Eanes school board will hold a special session to discuss a possible November bond election on Aug. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the administration building, 601 Camp Craft Road.

BELOW: Eanes school district business services head Larry Keiser talked to board members about the budget for next year and the extent to which the district will need to pull from its fund balance to cover operating costs.