The Ponder school district is looking to pass a balanced budget, despite increases in expenses.

Several area school districts, including Denton, Lake Dallas, Aubrey, Argyle and Pilot Point, are facing possible deficit 2008-09 budgets for various reasons, most of them attributed to a rise in expenses and the way the state’s formula works for funding individual districts.

Ponder school board members held a workshop on the budget at their Thurs­day meeting.

The district is looking to pass an expense budget of $14,266,552, an increase of nearly $1.1 million from the current fiscal year.

Its estimated revenue is $14,285,878, up by a little more than $1 million from the current fiscal year.

An increase in gasoline prices, as well as adding junior varsity football and volleyball to the high school, has contri­buted to the district’s transportation expenses, said Super­intendent Bruce Yeager.

Transportation expenses are estimated at about $584,779, about $266,755 more than the current year, according to a draft of the proposed budget.

Yeager says Ponder is fortunate with the amount of funding the district gets to work with per student and because of its increase in revenue from property and mineral values.

The district gets more than $6,000 per student from the state, said Yeager, compared to the county’s average of about $5,600.

But because Ponder is considered by the state to be a property-rich district, under the requirements of Chapter 41 of the Texas Education Code it must send about $3 million back to the state, he said. The system, also known as Robin Hood, helps fund districts considered by the state to be property-poor.

“It’s every school district’s goal to adopt a budget that breaks even,” Yeager said, adding that in the 16 years he’s been a superintendent he’s had to pass deficit budgets as well.

“Public school financing in Texas is a roller coaster,” he said.

What works for some districts doesn’t for others, and then the state changes its funding formula, Yeager said. Ponder is not living the life of luxury, but the school district is able to break even, take a deep breath and move forward, he said.

The rise in property and mineral values does not affect the district on the maintenance  and operations side of the tax rate, said Yeager, but it does play a significant role in calculating the bond debt service portion.

As a result of that increase and despite voters passing the $13.4 million bond in 2007, the district should not need to increase the tax rate by much, if at all, Yeager said.

If the tax rate increases, it will be within a penny, he said.

This year’s tax rate is about $1.23 per $100 property valuation.

If the district’s tax rate went up 1 cent, that would mean the school tax bill for a $100,000 home would be $1,240, or $10 more than the previous year.

The district is still going over the budget with a “fine-tooth comb,” Yeager said, and they’ll bring the proposed budget to the school board Aug. 14.

That night school board members will likely call for the public hearing on the budget for Aug. 28, he said, when they’ll consider its approval.

AMY DODD THOMPSON can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is athompson@dentonrc.com .