School board provides funds for teachers and technology
Utilizing chomebooks and other technology throughout the day, FISD students will experience more luxuries after the passing of the TRE in early November of 2018. Classrooms across the district will also see smaller class size ratios with the extended budget.
December 13, 2018
Just over a month after the district’s tax ratifications and a $600 million bond passed, the school board rolled out a series of additions to next school years budget, including classroom supply stipends for teachers, updated technology for students, and fund allocations for 75 new teaching positions.
The fund allocations for hiring more staff comes as the district reported that the TRE could lower staffing ratios to 22:1 for grades K to 4, 25:1 for fifth grade, and a 26:1 for grades 6 to 12.
“Reducing class size at all levels has been a stated goal of the District for some time,” assistant director for the district’s communications department Meghan Cone wrote via email. “FISD believes that smaller class sizes help teachers address students’ individual needs and provide them with more personalized attention. More than 80 percent of the operating budget goes toward salaries, so hiring decisions have a significant impact on the District’s finances.”
The school board also distributed $285,000 for robotics kits and nearly $1 million for new technology.
“Frisco ISD “refreshes” technology at our campuses each summer on a rotation,” Cone wrote via email. “This includes new computers, mobile devices, projectors, phones, or network and wireless updates, etc.”
Teachers will have $250 stipends provided by the district for purchasing classroom supplies and equipment in the 2019-2020 school year, while they previously could only deduct up to $250 from their taxes for such expenses.
“We like to make, classrooms a place that feels more like of a homey environment, but it does get expensive,” humanities and English teacher Elizabeth Evans said. “[The stipend] is kind of the acknowledgement that the district saying we know that you’re spending your own money and we know you’re putting in a lot of time that you’re not paid for. It might not equal out monetarily, but it just makes you feel appreciated and like the extra time that you put in, and extra money you put in is being noticed.”
