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Fort Bend Independent School DistrictNEWS RELEASE |
** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE **
Addressing Budget Challenges
FORT BEND ISD — Like many school districts in our area and across the state, Fort Bend ISD is considering various options to help reduce a projected $18 million budget deficit. A recent cost savings study for our district was conducted by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), and contains recommendations or options for the district to consider as we look for ways to reduce overall budget expenditures. TASB has conducted similar studies for other school districts in the state.
In summary, the TASB study identified a total potential savings of approximately $23 million that could be reached through the use of several strategies including programmatic changes, increasing class sizes, reassigning staff to different positions, requiring all campuses to allocate staff in the master schedule consistently, as well as through attrition and retirements.
Fort Bend ISD wants to stress that the data contained in the TASB study are recommendations or options for the district to consider in developing the budget. No decisions have been made. In addition to identifying staffing efficiencies, all areas of the operating budget, i.e., transportation, maintenance and operations, construction, energy management, etc., will be studied in an effort to identify additional savings.
The superintendent communicated to all FBISD employees in an email sent January 29 that the district’s main focus, as we work through the budgeting process, will be to not only ensure quality instructional programs, but to do so without loss of jobs. Our goal is to have a plan ready to share with staff in late February.
In order to provide every employee with the opportunity to offer cost-cutting suggestions, the district is providing an opportunity via an electronic survey for employees to submit any ideas they may have to help the district address the budget challenges.
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