The Carroll ISD board of trustees unanimously approved a tax rate of $0.9617 per $100 valuation at their regular board meeting on Sept. 23.

The specifics

During his presentation to the board, Assistant Superintendent for Financial Services David Johnson said staff proposed a tax rate of $0.9617 per $100 valuation for FY 2024-25.

According to the Texas Education Agency, public school taxes involve two figures, which divide school district budgets into two buckets. The first bucket is the maintenance and operations budget, which funds daily costs and recurring or consumable expenditures, such as:

• Teacher and staff salaries
• Supplies
• Gas and utilities

The second bucket is the interest and sinking budget, also known as debt service, which is used to repay debt for longer-term capital improvements. This can include building new schools, which is approved by voters through bond elections.

In Carroll ISD’s case, the FY 2024-25 tax rate is broken down into the following components:

• $0.6669 maintenance & operations rate
• $0.2948 interest & sinking rate

What they’re saying

Over the past six years, Johnson said the tax rate has decreased 31%. Board members took the opportunity to recognize Johnson and his staff for that significant tax rate reduction.

“That’s amazing,” Board President Cameron Bryan said. “We’re truly looking out for the taxpayers and our community.”

In the past five years, Johnson said the district has been able to pay off approximately $160 million in principal and interest.

“That’s phenomenal,” Superintendent Jeremy Glenn said. “What a credit to this board.”