What’s happening?
AISD will have $391.4 million in both revenue and expenses, which is a nearly $25 million increase compared to FY 2024-25, according to budget documents.
Notable increases in revenue, according to district documents, stem from the following:
- State’s student allotment increase as student enrollment continues to rise in the district
- Increase in special education and early education funding from the state
- More funding sources for career and technical education programs
- A cost of living adjustment, or COLA, for teachers and staff. The state’s House Bill 2 will provide $3.7 billion to districts across the state to provide teachers with three to four years of experience a $2,500 raise, and teachers with five or more years of experience a $5,000 raise. Teachers and nonteachers that are not in this category will receive a 3% COLA, which will not be funded by the state.
- Additional staff positions to adhere to growing enrollment
- Campus budget increases to address inflationary factors experienced at the campus level
- Increase in capital improvement plan to maintain facilities, technology, etc.
- Increase in property insurance
- Tax increment reinvestment zone, or TIRZ, expenses; AISD was a party within a 30-year agreement dating back to 1998 in relation to the development of Shadow Creek Ranch in Pearland. The agreement is anticipated to have a "material impact” on the district’s finances, AISD’s Chief Financial Officer Daniel Combs said at the meeting.
The district is also projecting a tax rate decrease for FY 2025-26, but the exact amount projected is still in the air, Combs said.
The district’s current tax rate is $1.17 per $100 valuation of a home. In prior projections stemming from the district’s 2024 bond, which allocated $380.1 million to address the district’s growth. The district noted the tax rate would be decreased by $0.02, resulting in a $1.15 rate per $100 valuation of a home for FY 2025-26.
However, based on the 89th Legislature, the tax rate could decrease down to $1.1221 per $100 valuation of a home, Combs said.
With a projected tax rate of $1.12 per $100 valuation of a home, a home with a taxable value of $263,589 could have an annual tax bill of about $2,958, documents show.
These legislative measures will go to voters in November, but the district must adopt the tax rate by September. Combs said the district is waiting on guidance from the Texas Education Agency for how to direct these laws on the tax rate adoption process.
“It really could be a range from $1.15 to slightly over $1.12, but that all is in relation to the Tier 1 tax rate,” Combs said. “That is the rate that the Texas Education Agency tells us to adopt. The board and the district have limited latitude or jurisdiction to make any influence on that because that does come from the Texas Education Agency.”
What’s next
The district will receive certified Tier 1 tax rates from the TEA in August and adopt the tax rate Sept. 9.
The board will also meet at 8:30 a.m. June 26 for its final budget amendment meeting to close out FY 2024-25, according to district agenda documents.
