Princeton ISD trustees received a clearer picture of the upcoming year’s budget ahead of its approval during their August meeting.

Assistant Superintendent of Finance Jona Boitmann presented the updated budget during the Monday, July 18, regular meeting. The district’s fiscal year expires Aug. 31 with the upcoming fiscal year beginning Sept. 1, 2022 and concluding Aug. 31, 2023.

Boitmann said the project average daily attendance total remained unchanged at 7,260. However, Superintendent Donald McIntyre said some of the preliminary numbers were below district expectations for enrollment this fall.

The preliminary estimate is 300 students below 7,260 for average daily attendance, adding that the district is about 1,000 students below projections. There is still time for the number to increase, he said, because enrollment is still ongoing.

PISD is also anticipating future growth, McIntyre said, something that Boitmann mentioned in the June budget update.

“In a 12-month period, we had close to 2,500 new home starts between apartments and houses,” Boitmann said.

She said the district’s estimated appraisal values were projected to be $2.85 billion, a 27% increase in property valuations since 2021. Certified values were released to the district July 18 and Boitmann said the year-over-year increase is actually greater, which means the district may lose money from the state.

In Texas, when districts gain money through the generation of local revenue, such as property taxes, they lose a corresponding amount from state funds, said Boitmann.

For the full story, see the July 28 issue of The Princeton Herald.