Bryan ISD calls November election for proposed tax rate increase
The proposed tax rate increase is roughly 2 cents per $100 of taxable property, which projects to $5.5 million for Bryan ISD's maintenance and operations.
Bryan ISD trustees unanimously approved a proposed 2026-27 tax rate Monday and called for a November election that could raise the district’s maintenance and operations revenue by about $5.5 million annually. (Karley Cross/Community Impact)
Bryan ISD trustees unanimously approved a proposed 2026-27 tax rate Aug. 10 and called for a November election that could raise the district’s maintenance and operations revenue by about $5.5 million annually.
What’s happening?
The voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, will ask Bryan ISD voters Nov. 3 whether to approve an increase to the district’s maintenance and operations tax rate. District officials said the additional recurring revenue would help fund employee compensation, student programs and safety and security.
The proposed total tax rate would increase from $0.9469 to $0.9668 per $100 of taxable property value if voters approve the VATRE.
Chief Financial Officer Norma Friddle emphasized the increase would apply only to the maintenance and operations, or M&O, portion of the tax rate. The interest and sinking, or I&S, rate used to pay debt service will remain at $0.2700.
What voters need to know
A VATRE allows voters to decide whether a school district can raise its M&O tax rate above the amount otherwise allowed under state law.
Bryan ISD’s current M&O rate is $0.6769 per $100 of taxable value. The district is proposing an M&O rate of about $0.6968, a roughly 2-cent increase.
Friddle said the additional revenue would generate about $5.5 million annually. Of that amount, about $2.5 million would come from local property tax revenue, while about $3 million would come from the state with the help of using two golden pennies.
Bryan ISD estimates two additional M&O tax pennies would generate about $5.5 million in recurring annual revenue. (Courtesy Bryan ISD)
The additional recurring funding could be used for priorities identified through the district’s strategic planning process, including compensation, student programs and safety and security.
Trustee Ruthie Waller said this is where the money comes from to pay teachers, bus drivers and janitors among other staff. She said quite a few BISD employees were once students there.
Friddle also noted that Bryan ISD’s tax rate is among the lower rates of comparable districts.
Breaking it down
For a homeowner with a $350,000 appraised value and a $140,000 homestead exemption, the district estimated the proposed increase would amount to about $42 more per year, or $3.50 per month.
Homeowners who are 65 or older and have a qualifying property tax ceiling would not see an increase in their school district taxes as a result of the VATRE, according to the district.
Why now?
Friddle showed historical property rate values in the district, set by the Brazos County Appraisal District. She said the values have increased by 95% over the past decade.
School districts do not set property values, Friddle emphasized. However, because local property tax revenue increases as taxable property values rise, the state provides less funding to districts under the state’s school finance system.
Bryan ISD used a “cup” analogy to describe the system, with local property taxes filling the cup before state funding fills the remaining amount.
According to Bryan ISD, local property tax revenue can reduce the amount of funding provided by the state. (Courtesy Bryan ISD)
The proposed VATRE would allow the district to generate additional local revenue not subject to recapture.
Trustees also discussed the district’s efforts to determine how it can increase employee compensation. According to the strategic planning presentation, the district’s strategic planning committee met multiple times beginning in March, along with community, student, parent, teacher and district leadership groups.
Also on the agenda
Trustees also unanimously approved an order establishing parameters for the sale of bonds from the district’s previously approved $397 million bond program.
The bond program was approved by voters in June 2025. Planned bond sales include approximately:
$190.1 million in 2026
$90.6 million in 2027
$66 million in 2028
$50.3 million in 2029
Separate from the VATRE voters will see on ballots this fall, the bond debt is paid through the I&S portion of the property tax rate, which trustees approved at $0.2700 for 2026-27. This rate is not changing.
What happens next?
The district has now officially called the VATRE election for Nov. 3.
If voters approve the measure, Bryan ISD would collect the additional M&O revenue beginning with the 2026-27 school year. If voters reject it, the district’s M&O rate would not increase as proposed, and teachers and staff will be compensated as approved in June.
Trustees unanimously adopted the district’s overall 2026-27 tax rate of $0.9668 per $100 of taxable value, which hinges on the voter approval process for the M&O portion.
