At his last meeting and as the UHaul trucks were arriving at the ICISD superintendent's residence for him to load up and move on, Superintendent Ray DeSpain directed his CFO Robert Helms to give out the bad financial news to the board members. ICISD missed its revenue projection this year by $840,000. Why? The 313 Agreement projections were off.
Listen to Helms' full audio report on YouTube here.
ICISD's 313 agreements are with Santa Rita East Wind and Langford Wind Power, according to the Texas Comptroller. The Langford 313 appears to have expired in 2022.
313's are basically tax abatement plans used by the State to attract businesses to invest. You can get more information here. The revenue from the Irion County solar farms was significant enough to cause the then ICISD Brian Gray to make them a selling point back in 2019 when advertising the financial viability of the 2019 bond package. Clearly this was an error, as Helms explains that it is unreliable income.
Consider the following while listening to Helms' report:
Board member silence. One board member dared ask why the figures were off, and all of them appeared to accept face value Helm's blame of Moak Casey, that this was all very complex, it is "crazy" and "it is what it is" answer. Here's a governance tip for board members: when your CFO says it is too complicated for him to explain and it is what it is, well, it's time for you to start asking questions. Do not under any circumstance accept the CFO's first answer. There is undoubtedly more to this story.
DeSpain's silence. Just as DeSpain did in the budget amendment for $98,000 for the athletic department (see Spend Spend Spend), he clammed up during Helms' report. Here's another governance tip: board members, grill your superintendent on the shortfall! If the CFO doesn't understand, then hold his boss, the superintendent accountable...especially if he is walking out the door! (DeSpain's UHauls were loaded and gone within 24 hours of Helm's report.)
Who is having the black bean drawn for them and who is defending them. Teachers, and no one. Listen closely as Helms explains that the lion's share of budget expenses come from salaries, and the only way to get at this shortfall is through salaries. Here's yet another governance tip: board members defend your teachers, especially in public during board meetings. Not a single board member rejected Helm's position by saying something like, for example, "No we won't start with teacher salaries, we will start with the athletic department budget which has already received a $98,000 budget bonus this year and is the hands down winner of almost all of the 2019 bond funds." And, coincidentally, it is because of the athletics department that the District is spending money for non education matters like the parking lot, repaving of Juanita Street and the new pavement at the stadium entrance that the District is facing this shortfall. Without the 2019 bonds teachers would not be in this position today. And, note that the proposed step increase mentioned by Helms is more than consumed by the current high rate of inflation.
Recapture payment. Over $15 million will be going to the state for financing of poor school districts. Consider this Texas Monthly article about Fort Davis ISD, another rural West Texas district not as fortunate as ICISD. Are the ICISD capital improvements any more sustainable over time than the 313 agreements? This Texas Monthly article may be foretelling the future for ICISD, especially if its board members continue to fail so miserably to defend their teachers and favor athletics instead.
What other board member responses are missing during Helms report? Send me a comment and let me know what you think, and when you do check your email address and make sure it is a valid address. (I can't respond to invalid email addresses.) I'll consider posting responses here.
"God speed to all of you" DeSpain said when he formally announced his resignation to the board immediately following Helms' report.