The property tax rate of $1.192 per $100 valuation levied by Austin ISD will remain unchanged for fiscal year 2017-18 following a unanimous vote by trustees Aug. 28. A school district's property tax rate is made up of both a maintenance and operations, or M&O, tax rate and an interest and sinking fund, or I&S, if applicable. Austin ISD's M&O tax rate will remain at $1.079 per $100 valuation, and the I&S fund will be paid for through a tax rate of $0.113 per $100 of assessed valuation. The district is doing a great job with the limited funding it receives from the state, trustee Julie Cowan said. "It’s a real shame when we have so many needs ... that we are having to give away so much money to the state since they can't seem to put together a solvent school finance system," she said of state recapture, or the system in place that redistributes property tax revenue from districts that are considered "property-wealthy" to those that are considered "property-poor." According to the AISD Chief Financial Officer Nicole Conley Johnson, the district's contribution to the state's recapture system is reflected in 50 percent of the M&O tax rate. The district also voted unanimously to continue an partial property tax exemption for properties defined as historical landmarks by the city of Austin.