Superintendent Randy Johnson said a cap on state aid — state officials will pay local districts the same amount per student as they have the past two years — will not offset the increase in prices, leaving many schools in the financial lurch.

“The current financial system ... is really going to clamp down on school systems in the next few years,” Johnson said. “Someone said that a lot of schools will go bankrupt in the next five years if changes aren't made. We're not going belly-up by any means, but we do share concerns a lot of other districts have.”

Compounding Forsan's financial headache is that the district is starting its first fiscal year as a “property-rich” district under the state's Robin Hood school finance system, meaning that the district will have to send a portion of its revenue to the state for distribution to poorer school systems.

Johnson said the preliminary FISD budget features $7.8 million in expenditures, a $400,000 increase from last year. Factor in the half-million-dollar payment under Robin Hood, however, and the district is actually facing a decrease in expenditures this year, he said.

“The bottom-line budget we had last year will be very similar to this year's bottom-line budget,” he said. “We have a lot less flexibility in this budget and a lot less extra items than we've had the previous few years.”

The news is not totally gloomy — Johnson said the budget is balanced, so reserve funds will remain untouched, and the debt service tax rate should decrease by 2 or 3 cents. In addition, a $1,000 increase is planned for the local supplement paid to FISD teachers, while other district employees will receive a 5 percent salary increase.

Forsan ISD trustees are expected to approve the new budget during a meeting Aug. 18, Johnson said.

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it