Cy-Fair ISD's board of trustees called for a 12-cent voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, and a four-proposition bond election during the Aug. 10 meeting in a 6-1 vote, with trustee Christine Kalmbach opposed.
The big picture
The district first discussed the 12-cent maintenance and operations, or M&O, tax increase in April as an option to address the district's per-student state funding gap and fiscal year 2026-27 projected shortfall.
The $1.63 billion bond was presented to the board of trustees in February by the Long Range Planning Committee, or LRPC, following its evaluation of district needs, Chief Operations Officer Matt Morgan said.
If voters pass the propositions, they will see a 9-cent property tax increase, per a news release. The increase is partially offset by the bond, which is projected to bring a 3-cent reduction to the debt service tax, Morgan said.
The total property tax rate is determined by combining the M&O and debt service rates.
Chief Financial Officer Karen Smith said even with the potential tax rate adjustments, residents’ tax bills will still be lower than surrounding districts.
How we got here
Smith said CFISD made $94 million in budget cuts from FY 2024-25 into FY 2026-27, and is facing a projected $80.9 million shortfall in the upcoming fiscal year.
Smith said contributors to the projected shortfall include:
- State funding not keeping up with inflation
- CFISD’s 20% local optional homestead exemption, or LOHE
- Decline in School Health and Related Services revenue
- Underfunded state mandates
- Decrease in enrollment and average daily attendance
State funding formulas do not account for the loss in property tax revenue from offering the 20% LOHE, Smith said, which the district cannot reduce until Jan. 1, 2028. She said the district has no plans to reduce or eliminate the LOHE.
Superintendent Doug Killian said he has reached out to legislators to try and remedy the gap in revenue, but they haven’t found a solution yet. Smith said the only viable option to produce meaningful revenue at the current moment is to consider increasing the M&O tax rate.
“It’s really important that the community know that the board takes this decision very seriously,” trustee Justin Ray said. “It does not escape any of us that affordability is an important consideration during these times, which is why we are going to the community for a tax increase plan, and it isn’t really something we all relish.”
Some context
Texas law divides the M&O and debt service revenues into two restricted funds. Per a news release, the M&O budget funds daily operational costs including:
- Teacher salaries
- Safety personnel
- Instructional supplies
- Property insurance
- Utilities
The debt service budget is restricted to servicing debt for capital projects such as building repairs, fleet replacement and technology systems. By law, the district is not allowed to use debt service funds for M&O costs, and vice versa.
Texas school districts have the ability to raise the M&O portion of their tax rate by 17 cents over the state threshold. District officials confirmed during the May 7 work session that the board was allowed to raise the maintenance and operations tax rate by 5 cents without voter approval, but a VATRE is required to access the additional 12 cents.
Breaking it down
Come November, each proposition will be voted on individually and will provide funding for differing uses, including:
- Proposition A (VATRE): teacher and staff compensation, class size maintenance, campus safety personnel, instruction materials, programs and student bus transportation
- Proposition B (building bond): essential facility renovations, modernizing technology and cybersecurity frameworks and acquisition of new school buses with three-point seat belts
- Proposition C (technology bond): replace or update instructional technology devices, classroom instructional displays and other teacher and student technology
- Proposition D (athletic bond): new artificial turf, resurfacing of competition tracks and updating stadium scoreboards
- Proposition E (swimming pools bond): replacement of water filtration pumps and re-plastering of middle and high school pools
Looking ahead
Ahead of the November election, important dates include:
- Oct. 5: last day to register to vote
- Oct. 19: early voting period begins
- Oct. 30: early voting period ends
- Nov. 3: Election Day
CFISD students will return to the classrooms for the first day of the 2026-27 school year Aug. 12.
“It’s going to be a mass of bikes and cars and buses, and we just all need to be cognizant and paying attention in our school zones to make sure that our children arrive safely, and out staff as well,” Kalmbach said.
The board of trustees is slated to meet Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. in the Mark Henry Administration Building Boardroom for the next regular board meeting.
