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Rockwall ISD projects small surplus, flags slower enrollment growth in budget update
Summary
Finance staff told trustees the district expects a $600,000 surplus for the current year and a projected $400,000 surplus next year while cautioning that kindergarten cohorts and transfers out are below earlier projections.
Mr. Carter presented a finance/operations update showing improved budget projections and shifting enrollment trends.
Carter said the district has moved to a positive projection for the current year — approximately a $600,000 surplus — and an initial projection of roughly a $400,000 surplus for the next year after budget adjustments. He attributed much of the improved outlook to voter-approved compensation funding (VADER) used largely for teacher pay increases and noted the district increased starting teacher pay to over $63,500. "We're projecting a budget surplus of $600,000," Carter said.
Carter and his team also warned that actual enrollment as of the February count (about 19,116 students) lagged the demographer's projection (19,365) by roughly 250 students, largely because of a smaller kindergarten cohort. Mr. Carter said that slower kindergarten cohorts and rising transfers out (students who leave the district for other public or virtual schools) are trends that could affect long-term revenue and staffing assumptions.
The board heard demographic maps of active and future housing developments and was told the district’s demographer has widened projection ranges; trustees were notified that final revenue numbers remain subject to state calculations and legislative changes.
