The CFBISD Business Support Services Office is responsible for managing the complex business functions of the school district – Finance, Payroll & Benefits, Purchasing, Special Revenue, Budget, and Tax Collections. 

The Office ensures business operations run smoothly and adapts to the District’s and schools’ ever-changing needs by seeking ways to be more efficient and cost effective without losing sight of the district’s critical educational mission. 

“All school districts are businesses, and all businesses have the basic functions of budgeting, accounting, accounts payable, payroll, and more,” said Steve Bassett, CFBISD Associate Superintendent of Business Services. “In CFBISD, we try to do more by providing excellent customer service as well as maximizing resources that go into the classroom. We work hard to provide more than other district finance teams by striving to provide decision support for the Superintendent and the Board of Trustees, as well as maximizing revenue and the value of district assets.”

Business Support Services is made up of 31 employees total within several departments who play an important role in supporting CFBISD students, teachers, and staff. 

The departments within Business Services are:

Finance Department

The Finance Department ensures all district transactions are accounted for, maintains compliance, pays bills on time, manages district cash balances, and maximizes investment revenue. The Finance Director is Karla Stastny. Karen Schmidt and Patti Espinoza are the Assistant Directors.

The Finance Department accounts for spending for districts budgets of more than $392.4 million. District revenue is determined by how many students the District has, the attendance rate, and the state allotment per student. Property tax collections make up 84% of the District’s revenue, with 14% coming from the State and 2% from federal revenue for the general fund.

“An interesting fact is that maintenance and operations (M & O) property tax rates have actually dropped per state guidelines for the last three years in a row,” said Larry Guerra, CFBISD Chief Financial Officer. 

The District’s overall tax rate is one of the lowest in the DFW area.

The Finance team also provides guidance, support, and training to campus and department secretaries throughout the district. Financial reports are created and given to the board each month. The financial statements of the department are audited each year by outside auditors.

Payroll & Benefits Department

The role of the Payroll Department, led by Director Rebecca McDowell, is to make sure all CFBISD employees, temporary employees, and substitutes are paid promptly and accurately, and that all employees have a robust benefit package. Jesse Reyes is the Assistant Director. The District’s monthly payroll is more than $16 million for more than the 3,400 employees. September is always the busiest month for this department. For September, the Payroll and Benefits team accomplished the following:

• Processed more than 700 new hire records which includes W4’s, direct deposits, leave rules, updating pay cycles, verifying salaries, and verifying/updating TRS records
• Reviewed more than 23,350 timecards
• Adjusted more than 2,600 timecards to ensure employees were paid correctly
• Processed and paid more than 900 supplemental pay records
• Updated employee records with more than 20,000 individual benefit selections 

“There normally are seven employees in the Payroll Department, but payroll was completed with only five on staff this month,” Guerra said. “Kudos to Ms. McDowell and her staff.” 

Purchasing Department

The Purchasing Department makes certain that all CFBISD campuses and departments receive the resources they need in a timely manner, and at good prices, while being compliant with the law. The Department is designed to assist campus and department level personnel in the purchasing of supplies and services. The Department also promotes consistency in purchasing applications throughout the school district and promotes fiscal responsibility to the taxpayers of CFBISD with the best interest of the District in mind.

In 2020-21, the Purchasing Department processed 11,105 purchase orders totaling $219.8 million. The most common type of purchase order processed in CFB is for instructional materials. This represents approximately 45% of all transactions. The largest purchase order processed in 2020-21 was $34.7 million for the renovations to DeWitt Perry Middle School.

The Purchasing Department has helped campuses and departments find new ways to obtain goods and services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to support instructional and operational functions. The greatest challenge has been adjusting the supply chain from the standard products to products specific to combating the COVID-19 pandemic, which included a new line of chemicals and services, as well as partnering with other CFBISD departments and vendors in finding solutions to deliver remote learning to all students and staff.

“All departments were challenged with the issues coming out of the 2019-20 school year and entering the 2020-21 school year, and Purchasing was no exception,” said Gary Kerbow, CFBISD Director of Purchasing. “Our team handled this in stride and continually demonstrated their training in procurement and professionalism in sourcing items unique to this challenge, as well as maintaining their normal workload.”

Guerra agreed.

“In my opinion, the CFBISD Purchasing Department really sets the standard for purchasing operations in the state,” he said. “The challenges they face on a daily basis, and now through this pandemic, really showed how much they shine as a group. Gary has shown everything you need in a leader to get his team to go above and beyond to provide the District with all the supplies and services needed to operate in these trying times, all while maintaining compliance with the Texas Education Agency and the State’s procurement laws. We’re grateful and thankful to Gary and his team for all they do for the students and staff of CFBISD.”

Special Revenue Department

Special revenue funds encompass federal, state, and local grants received by the district. The Department also assists grant managers in budgeting, compliance, and money management.

Total applied grant money awarded to the District via the notice of grant award (NOGA) and federal allotments is typically more than $25 million dollars per year. Those grants include Title funds, Special Education; College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR); Career and Technical Education (CTE); Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Pre-K; Technology, and Safety and Security grants. 

In addition to those grants and allotments, the federal government started Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds after the pandemic started. The District is receiving an estimated $56 million dollars in ESSER funding over the next three years. For the 2021-22 school year, the funds were used to hire elementary teachers, special education teachers and support staff, secondary teachers, counselors, ESL support clerks, positive behavior facilitators, nurse assistants, and a social studies coach. ESSER funds will be used to support these positions for the next three school years and then most of these positions will be absorbed by the general fund when ESSER ends.

ESSER funds are also being used for non-staff areas such as summer school, instructional materials, CCMR support, after school and Saturday school tutoring, instruments for fine arts students, professional development, and Dyslexia support. Nikki Pendlay, Director, is the only Special Revenue employee. She works very closely with Claudia Arizaleta, Coordinator of Federal Funds, to ensure the District is following federal and state regulations. 

Budget Department

The Budget Department is led by Director Gisselle Rivera-Franco. The Assistant Director is Zach Drillette. These two employees are responsible for budget development, forecasting, and financial planning. It is very difficult to determine how much revenue the district can expect each year. Understanding revenue is essential to knowing how much funding is available for staff salaries, benefits, and new positions. The budget team collaborates with campuses and other CFBISD departments to ensure they have the funding they need.

The Department also provides data and analysis for decision support and strategic planning as well as managing the district debt. The District currently has more than $375 million in outstanding debt. Planning is essential as the District works toward the development of a bond package to take to the voters in 2023.

In August, the Board of Trustees annually approves the General Operating Budget, the Debt Service Budget, and the Student Nutrition Budget in a public Board meeting. 

“The budget process is year-round,” Guerra said. “Whether it be working on the current fiscal year budget and periodic projections throughout the year, or the upcoming next fiscal year budget that is worked upon normally starting in January, ending in August.”

Tax Office  

The Tax Office ensures that property taxes are collected for the District. The Office sends tax statements to residents and businesses at the end of September. This year, the Office has 45,578 accounts and $302,823,643 to collect for the District. The Tax Office usually collects 99% of the taxes due to the District each year.

“My department is very small – myself, a full-time person and a seasonal worker – so I am very proud of the fact that we hit 99% pretty much every year,” said Anna Brady, CFBISD Tax Assessor/Collector.   

The Tax Office is also responsible for processing any refunds due to taxpayers when new exemptions are granted to them or in cases where businesses or homeowners have their values lowered. Taxes are due by Jan. 31 and then they become delinquent and incur penalty and interest. December and January are the Tax Office’s busiest months. 

“Our office is open during winter break because that is our busy time,” Brady said. “Before COVID-19 hit, we used to serve the taxpayers hot apple cider on Dec. 30 and 31. We had regulars that would come in on those days to pay their taxes and get some hot cider.”

The Office has a very high volume of walk-in taxpayers that prefer to bring their payment in person. Last year, the Tax Office averaged more than 1,500 walk-ins for December and more than 2,700 for January.

“We are the only contact many of these people ever have with the District, so we make it a point to make them feel appreciated and make sure that we provide them with great customer service,” Brady said. “Senior citizens are allowed to pay their taxes out in four payments, so we have many regulars that walk in to see us four times a year. Again, we are usually the only contact they have with anyone from the District. We have a very close relationship with our senior citizens and get to know them quite well. They love to visit, and we become very attached to them.”