Superintendent Jennings Teel and Navasota ISD trustees were chastised by teachers at a school board meeting on Monday. The teachers claimed that the group had dealt with them in a caviler manner and had exhibited generally poor decision making abilities. The merit of those allegations is subjective and therefore difficult to validate what is not is Mr. Teel’s resolve to keep taxes low.
Given the chance to address Navasota’s budget Teel made it clear that a rumored tax increase was inaccurate but that he had plans to give a 3 percent raise to teachers and staff.
Teel wants the 3 percent raise to come from the district’s fund balance. The idea of funding from a “funds balance” aka budget surplus is refreshing but Teel one upped that by proposing a reduction in the number of support staff personnel by nine jobs in order to keep the budget intact. Those nine jobs are not teachers or teachers aides.
Not all of Navasota’s trustees were in agreement with Teel in holding the line when it comes to raising property taxes. Scott Singletary NISD’s Business Manager proposed a 1-cent increase over the current rate. Teel reiterated that he did not favor a tax increase. “I don’t want to do that to the community,” he said.
Bravo Mr. Teel for sticking to the rubric of paying down over paid tax balances, cutting frivolous positions from school budgets, and refusing to increase taxes. By engaging in these practices we can work to subvert the culture of raising taxes and increasing spending that has permeated in our education system.
