Plano ISD approved to decrease its tax rate by $0.009 at a Sept. 1 regular Board of Trustees meeting.

In the school year 2014-15, the total tax rate was $1.448, said Steve Fortenberry, PISD Board chief financial officer. The new tax rate stands at $1.439. 

Plano ISD has one of the lowest tax rates in the Dallas area, just above Farmersville ISD, which has the lowest tax rate at $1.43. Plano's increased property values led to the recent school district decrease, according to PISD officials.

Plano's total assessed property value for fiscal year 2015-16 sits at $31.3 billion, which includes $536 million in new property in Plano, according to Collin and Denton Central Appraisal Districts. Existing property values increased by $1.9 billion, which equates to an additional $12 million in tax revenue for the city of Plano, according to the city's proposed budget. The Plano City Council is expected to approve its tax rate, which is set at 48.86 cents and is unchanged from last year, at a Sept. 14 regular meeting. 

Advisory Committee

During the Sept. 1 meeting, the board also discussed goals for the district's advisory subcommittees. PISD trustee David Stolle said the board should utilize advisory committee members’ expertise since they can help the board get direct feedback from members in the community.

“In the four years that I have been on the board we have not utilized our advisory board well,” Stolle said. “We need subcommittees, so let's come up with some good topics for them to discuss and also consider the topics that they think are important for [the board] to discuss.”

PTA National Family Engagement Month

The school board also declared September National Family Engagement Month to support the Parent Teacher Association Council's effort to involve family and parents in “Back The Future” of children’s success in school. The PTA Council hopes to increase its membership by eight percent this year and will host events where families can interact with the school community.

Recognition of Summer Internship and UT Dallas Summer Scholar Program

PISD board members recognized and congratulated three students from PISD schools for completion of their summer program in science labs at the University of Texas in Dallas. They also recognized a student who interned with PISD through Mayor's Internship program.