Crosby, TX – On Monday, June 24, 2024, the Crosby ISD Board of Trustees approved a non-deficit budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Non-deficit budgets are a growing rarity among school districts in Texas.
Throughout the budget workshop process this spring, the Board of Trustees heard from both Superintendent, Mrs. Paula Patterson, and Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Yvonne Johnson, on how the administration is solidifying a bright financial future. Superintendent Patterson told the Board, “We did not adopt a deficit budget this current school year. This is not what you’re hearing from many others. We’re only one of about 20% of districts that do not have deficit budgets in the state of Texas.”
During the budget workshop in February, CFO Johnson explained that the tax rate for Crosby ISD taxpayers has decreased by a total of 43 cents per $100 valuation during the past six years. The budget workshop process followed a major update in December 2023, when CFO Johnson outlined a major fiscal achievement for Crosby ISD. The school district achieved its highest School FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas) rating in more than five years, scoring a 96 or Superior Achievement for the 2021-22 fiscal year. (School FIRST ratings are given for the prior fiscal year, meaning 2021-22 ratings are issued during the 2023-24 school year.) CFO Johnson shared the School FIRST report during a public hearing at the Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, December 18, 2023.
Following the Board’s approval of the 2024-25 budget, Superintendent Patterson added, “Crosby ISD went through financial, emotional, and community trauma during the 2018-2019 school year, when the Board declared financial exigency. More than 100 staff members were laid off as part of the RIF (Reduction-In-Force). As this spring’s budget process and December’s School FIRST public hearing have shown, we are moving in the right direction. The rebound has been slower than anyone would have liked, but we have continued to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Crosby ISD has a bright financial future. The headwinds we faced in 2017 are now what many other districts are starting to endure. We are proud to have helped to right the ship, and now we are better positioned to respond to the challenges and opportunities of student achievement, growing enrollment, and subdivision development. I am proud of the fiscal path we have cemented in Crosby ISD.”
The 2024-25 fiscal year budget includes a 3% raise from midpoint for Crosby ISD employees. The starting salary for teachers was increased by $1,625 from $63,025 to $64,650. Starting pay for bus drivers and bus aides was increased as well. The 24-25 general fund budget is $74.1 million. For the 2023-24 school year, Crosby ISD had approximately 6900 students enrolled. The district expects enrollment to surpass 7000 during the 2024-25 school year.
