This article was written by Sandra Sadek of Community Impact on October 4, 2021.

Carroll ISD trustees amended their 2021-22 general fund budget Oct. 4 to reflect their newly approved tax rate and recent pay increases for district staff.

On Sept. 27, the board of trustees approved a total tax rate of $1.286, which includes the levying of the fifth golden penny on top of the original $1.2586 rate the budget had been based on. With the change, the tax rate is now expected to generate an additional $520,487 in net general fund revenue.

During the same meeting, additional compensation was approved for special education paraprofessionals and auxiliary employees. The increase will cost the district an additional $334,923 from their approved fiscal year 2021-22 budget.

According to documents given to the board, the amendment will yield a net increase of $185,564 to the fund balance. This will bring the budget into a surplus.

The pay increase for special education paraprofessionals and auxiliary employees comes as the district has been struggling to hire staff to fill several vacancies resulting from a large number of resignations in the first two weeks of August, according to Lauren Wurman, executive director of human resources.

“Since the beginning of the [2021-22] school year, it’s been very difficult finding special education paraprofessionals for many districts in the DFW area,” Wurman told the board Sept. 27. “There is not a district around us that is fully staffed with special education paraprofessionals.”