At its June 25 budget meeting the New Braunfels ISD board of trustees amended its proposed bond package that will be decided on by voters in November.

The board added almost $11 million in bond projects, which, if passed, will go toward new computers, school buses, and security and safety measures. The total proposed bond amount now sits at $118.3 million.

NBISD Communication Director Rebecca Villarreal said adding these items to the bond package frees up room in the district’s general fund budget for pay raises, hiring new staff and implementing student resource officers in all secondary campuses.

During the budget meeting, a 3 percent pay increase was approved for NBISD employees.
“We’re one of the highest-paying districts in the Austin region, so we’re just trying to stay competitive,” Villarreal said.

The board also proposed raising the district’s maintenance and operations, or M & O, tax rate from $1.3391 to $1.3658 per $100 assessed property value. If the tax increase receives final approval in August, it will be the rst tax hike for NBISD in more than a decade. Villarreal said the rise in local property values has allowed the district to keep the tax rate the same since the 2009-10 fiscal year.

“We just don’t overspend,” Villarreal said. “We spend what we need, but we’re pretty frugal around here.”

NBISD’s 2018-19 budget went into effect July 1. The $90.6 million budget allocates $71.4 million for general operations. The rest will go into the debt service fund ($15.8 million) and the food service fund ($3.4 million).