The Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees has approved a balanced budget for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year that includes significant investments in pay increases for District staff and targets funding for high-need schools.
The Board voted to approve the $518.0 million budget at its June 16 Regular Board Meeting.
The new budget directs $18.3 million toward increasing teacher and librarian pay by 5 percent, a minimum of a $2,800 annual increase, and other staff members by at least 3 percent, with some employees receiving a market pay adjustment on top of their general pay increase. The budget also includes increasing the minimum salary in the District to $15 an hour. The salary increases were approved by the Board of Trustees earlier this spring.
Continuing to invest in campus support for students, the budget also includes half a million dollars dedicated to supporting strategic staffing at seven identified campuses — five elementary and two middle schools — to provide additional staff to support student needs. In addition to strategic staffing, the campuses will also receive financial support for additional professional development and resources.
Considerations for the budget included the estimated $72.6 million in recapture payments the District will submit to the state of Texas, an increase of $57.7 million from last year’s adopted budget. As property values rise, districts across the state considered “property rich” must send local tax revenue back to the state. The recapture payment is calculated by the amount of local tax revenue collected above and beyond what the state has deemed as a basic allotment per student.
The District will be operating on a balanced budget, which was achieved through strategic financial management and $4.8 million in cost-savings strategies. The budget is structured to allow for reallocation of funds to support critical needs.
The Board will vote on a tax rate in September, with the projected rate decreasing by 6.54 cents from $1.1339 in 2021-2022 to $1.0685 in 2022-2023 per $100 valuation.
