After months of deliberation and planning, the Conroe ISD board of trustees officially approved a lower tax rate for the 2026-27 fiscal year at the Aug. 18 regular meeting.
The cost
As previously reported, CISD began drafting initial projections for the new tax rate in January. The seven-month-long process ended on Aug. 19 when the board approved a new tax rate of $0.9471 per $100 valuation presented by CISD Chief Financial Officer Karen Garza. When broken down, the rate is comprised of $0.6671 for maintenance and operations and $0.28 for debt service per $100 of taxable valuation.
The budget for FY 2026-27 is officially set to be $769.6 million. CISD considered multiple factors when creating it, including
- Opening three new campuses
- Slowing enrollment growth
- House Bill 2 funding model for raises
- Growing special education population
- Impact of education savings accounts
Garza also noted that for the future, the district has other important issues they need to take into account, including
- Slowing enrollment growth
- Compensation plan
- Potential drop for fast growth allotment in 2027-28
- Fund balance strain due to self-funded insurance plan
- Campus operational costs continue to escalate.
For this upcoming fiscal year, employee raises were not factored into the new budget; the district previously allocated funds for raises in last year's compensation plan due to lack of available funds this year. Garza does note, however, that CISD has plans to advocate for funding at the upcoming Texas legislative session to help support their employees.
“We know that the funding simply was not there this year; this will be a legislative priority for us going into the end of the 90th session,” Garza said. “To ensure that there is funding adequate to ensure that our employees have competitive pay and that we can do stipend increases.”
She also noted that CISD is expected to have four new campuses open by the 2027-28 school year, which will lead to higher operational costs alongside the general rise in the price of many maintenance operations.
Quote of note
The CISD board of trustees noted the upcoming pitfalls they may face in the near future with their budget and debt. Trustee Melissa Dungan has said that the district is heading into a legislative year, and things can rapidly change when it comes to school financing.
“Property tax is a huge issue right now, not just at this table but at many other tables as well,” Dungan said. “I don't really see where we can personally forecast what gonna happen next year or any future year; everything is a projection when it comes to school financing.”
