State leaders come to agreement on Rainy Day Fund to close 2011 budget gap

"Gov. Rick Perry, Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) and Comptroller Susan Combs worked out a deal today to access a portion of the Rainy Day Fund to close out the 2010-11 biennium budget, which shows that the state is short by just more than $4 billion.

"Accordingly, the House Appropriations Committee today passed HB 275 (Pitts), which would use $3.11 billion of the Rainy Day Fund to address the 2010-11 budget shortfall. HB 275 now needs 90 votes on the House floor to move on to the Senate.

“We have worked closely with state leaders and lawmakers to balance the current budget, which includes using a one-time amount from the Economic Stabilization Fund to help our budget deal with the impact of the national recession,” Gov. Perry said. “As we craft the next two-year budget, Texas leaders will continue to focus on a more efficient, fiscally responsible government, essential state services, and private sector job creation. I remain steadfastly committed to protecting the remaining balance of the Rainy Day Fund, and will not sign a 2012-2013 state budget that uses the Rainy Day Fund.”

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Budget Blues 2.0

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Superintendent of Schools Michael Hinojosa and Dallas ISD Chief Financial Officer Alan King presented to the Board of Trustees on March 10 a revised Budget Reduction Plan 2.0 that reflects an anticipated $150 million decrease in funding from the state of Texas, an improvement over the initial "worst-case" decrease of $253 million projection (Budget Reduction Plan 1.0).

On Tuesday, March 8, I sent the following request to Superintendent Michael Hinojosa:

“Please provide a copy of all Preliminary Budget Reduction Plan 2.0 information that

will be presented at the Thursday Board Briefing.”

I received a response from the financial department on Tuesday:

"We are still working on version 2."

Never received the requested  information or any further explanation.

Trustees should be provided all Budget Briefing information in advance of the meeting - not see the new budget information for the first time at the horseshoe. 

This is the most serious financial crisis in the history of Dallas ISD and Trustees must have the opportunity to review a new budget proposal before arriving at the Board Briefing.

How can Trustees prepare for a Board Briefing with no information?