School Board faces potential $1.7M sales tax revenue shortfall

Six months into its fiscal year, the St. Mary School Board faces a potential $1.7 million budget shortfall if sales tax collections don’t turn around.
Superintendent Donald Aguillard said collections were “very disappointing” for the month of December, falling $228,539 below budget projections.
Total sales taxes collected in December 2014 were $1.54 million versus December 2013 actual collections of $1.65 million and December 2012 collections of $1.36 million.
Year-to-date collections are $887,578 below budget predictions for the first half of the fiscal year that ends June 30. By this point in the year, the board budgeted collections of $10.45 million but actually collected $9.56 million for an 8.5 percent variance below budget and 10.3 percent variance below collections through December 2013.
Comparing that to 2012 data, the school system had collected $8.89 million through December 2012.
Aguillard encouraged citizens to shop in St. Mary Parish because “when you don’t, the school system is hurt,” he said.
In other action, the board approved a resolution requesting a moratorium on sanctions upon students, teachers, schools or districts that would result from PARCC testing performance in the 2014-15 school year.
The resolution is a modification of one adopted by Caddo and Washington parishes requesting a moratorium on all Louisiana students participating in PARCC testing for the year and, instead, using the current Louisiana assessments.
Both resolutions cite misinformation, delayed releases of materials and continuous recalculation of expectations as reasons to request a delay.
St. Mary Assistant Superintendent Teresa Bagwell said the November release of news that the test would be in a paper and pencil format and carry a time limit forced a late change in preparing students for the test. The test previously was scheduled to be taken on computers and with no time limit, she said.
Further, she said, course assessment guides were updated as late as Nov. 20 and training teachers on revisions or additions was hindered by the fact that the school year started.
Bagwell also indicated that the results of this year’s test won’t be released until late fall, “mitigating any real change that could occur at the school level.”
Additionally, the board elected officers for a two-year term. Ginger Griffin, representing the Patterson area, will serve as president, while Mike Taylor, of Berwick, will serve as vice president. Both were elected without opposition by a vote of the board.