Where did the money come from?

On Thursday, La Marque school district superintendent Ecomet Burley, Finance Director Laurie Alexander and recently hired Assistant Superintendent for School Improvement Joanie Hudson announced that the district was able to hold off a budget deficit and actually predicted a financial surplus.

The district had faced a more than $2 million deficit going into the new school year and was considering calling for an election to raise the property tax rate. Much of the deficit was wiped away when Hudson found grant money from the federal stimulus plan.

She found about nine more grants to be able to cover $2.1 million in salaries. Hudson specializes is finding those grant dollars having done the same for the Garland school district before joining La Marque two weeks ago.

Below is a list of the grants used:

State Stabilization Grant*: $1,732,422.81

IDEA Special Education Stimulus*: $62,902.57

Pre-Kindergarten Grant: $23,871.54

Title I Part A Basic Grant: $83,112.35

Title I Stimulus Grant: $179,958.09

Special Education Basic: $17,139.49

Special Education Pre-K: $512.34

Title II Part A Training: $6,752.89

Homeless Disaster: $3,186.01

Truancy Abatement: $1,713

Total: $2,111,570.60
* Part of the American Reinvestment and Act

The district will also make some cost cutting measures:

• Reduced discretionary expenses by 10 percent

• Won’t buy new police cars +

• Reduced the number of bus routes and reduced costs by $200,000

• Cut issuance of cell phone stipends

+ District hopes to use COPS grant for funding

The district is also betting on increasing enrollment at least by 2 percent this coming year, although Burley is pushing for a 4 percent increase.

LMISD takes out loan

La Marque trustees approved borrow $3 million to help meet its financial obligations of the first two months of school. Technically the loan is called a Tax and Revenue Anticipation Note.

In short, the district uses the collateral of expected local tax revenue receipts to get the loan. The school district’s major revenue sources are state funds and local tax dollars.

The bulk of the local tax dollars arrive in February. So, the district plans to pay off the loan on Feb. 15, 2011, Finance Director Laurie Alexander said.

The loan from Texas-based Government Capital Corporation comes with a 2.89 percent interest rate or an interest payment of $43,350 when the loan comes due. The district plans to make a single lump sum payment next year to pay off the loan.

The loan was approved in a 4-2 vote with Trustees Annie Burton and Shirley Fanuiel voting against it. Burton said she had hoped the district would have sought out another way to find the funds.

“There’s no guarantee we will be able to pay back this loan,” she said.

Alexander was confident there would be enough money in the bank when the note comes due.

Initially the district considered taking out a $4 million bridge loan, but when the state deposited more than $600,000 into the district’s bank account on Thursday the financial picture for the start of the new school year looked a bit better.

Before that state infusion, the district was down to $46,000. It costs about $2 million a month to pay the bills in the school district.

Fields hired as chief

Following a short executive session Thursday night, La Marque board members voted to hire Tim Fields as the school district’s new police chief.

Fields, who was already a member of the district police department, replaces Russell Washington as chief. Washington was fired earlier this year after he was indicted on charges of falsifying records to obtain a vehicle title.