Matt Kormann for Place 6, CISD Board of Trustees
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Part one of a two part series.
Q: Each candidate in this year's campaign has promised fiscal restraint to taxpayers. What specific actions or proposals do you recommend to balance the budget and maintain fiscal responsibility?
A:brMatt Kormann – First,brnew revenue sources must be identified. Unique on-campus or central-administration-basedbrrevenue generators must also be considered, with community input andbrcollaboration. Healthy food and beverage outlets on campuses that teach workbrskills to our high school students as well as feeding revenue into ourbroperations budget would be just one way to help. Bringing pay-for-use servicesbrlike official photography and videography in-house as a revenue generator isbranother. A voluntary check-writing campaign has been talked about, specificallybrby the group who opposed the TRE in the fall, but no action has been taken. Thebrboard, by law, cannot take that action. It’s up to the community. Such anbreffort has proven very successful in other Robin Hood districts and enablesbrcontribution from those who are motivated to give without having to give.
I will not advocate for unwarranted taxbrincreases at any time. I am opposed tobrtreating taxpayer’s hard earned dollars as a quick and easy solution. I will fully investigate all opportunitiesbrfor cost savings, cost sharing, budget reductions and revenue expansion. My expectation is that the district utilizebrall the means at its disposal to provide continued outstanding educationalbropportunities in the most fiscally responsible and efficient manner possible.brOur funding model will changebrin the next two years, either from legislative action, court mandate, or both,brand we currently have very little idea as to what that new model will lookbrlike. History tells us it won’t be favorable to CISD, but I am committed tobractively engaging the legislature and the courts to ensure that our voice isbrheard. I believe it is irresponsible tobrconsider limited options in the care and education of our kids. I will alwaysbrhave an open mind when looking at ways in which to fund our schools. Mybropponent has committed to never, under any circumstances, allowing the citizensbrof CISD to determine whether or not they would like flexibility in fundingbroptions that include the potential use of tax revenues that are free from RobinbrHood. Our community is highly educatedbrand involved, and I will always respect their voice in the process.
To anyone who has spent a lot of timebrstudying CISD expenses, it's clear that Dr. Faltys and his staff are running anbrincredibly lean organization. So additional funding reductions are incrediblybrrare. So in that area, for me, it's more about being truer to the actual needsbrand budget than the board has allowed itself to be. As stewards of taxpayerbrdollars, there must be contingencies written into the budget. However, thebrtimes have changed, and that requires those contingencies be reduced and morebrin line with the reality of today. This action alone will enable greaterbrtransparency to the overall budget and CISD's bottom line. Any additionalbrexpense reductions should be at the recommendation of the administration, inbrcollaboration with the board. My experience managing a similarly-sized budgetbrwith an uncertain revenue stream makes me uniquely qualified to tackle thisbrproblem.
Q: Protect the Tradition is at the verybrheart of this school district. What doesbrthe phrase mean to you and exactly how do you intend to fulfill that commitmentbrif elected?
A:brMatt Kormann – We’vebrbeen fortunate in CISD to have traditions of excellence across academics, thebrarts, and athletics. In more recent years, we’ve had a tradition of fiscalbrexcellence as well. Our fund balance has grown from virtually nothing to $35Mbrin the last decade, and our operations budget has leaned up to meet thebrturbulent funding model dictated by Austin.
But it's notbrsimply about maintaining that excellence, it's about improving upon it. Ourbrcommunity has had to deal with terrible tragedy this year. And while it's firstbrand foremost a parent's responsibility to build strong kids, our kids spendbrmore time in school and extracurricular activities than they spend anywherebrelse. So we have an obligation to do a better job building young leaders whilebrthey're in our care. We can do this, at every grade level, and inbrage-appropriate fashion, and help avoid some of these tragedies in the future.
Fiscally, we must fully investigate every reasonable and appropriate efficiencybravailable to us. From identifying unique new revenue sources, to continuing thebrboard and administration's current initiative, to reduce spending, every optionbrmust be on the table. But we should select those options in collaboration withbrparents and taxpayers as well as surrounding community leaders whenbrappropriate.
Meet his opponent, Sam Torolopoulos. Part 1 of 2.
Meet Place 7 Candidates Chris Archer and Jim Palazzo.