Assistant Superintendent for Finance David Pate said during the meeting the district’s M&O tax rate will be $0.9646 per $100 valuation, which is 7.3% lower than last year’s operating tax rate of $1.0409 per $100 valuation. The portion of RISD’s tax rate used to pay principal and interest on bonds approved by voters, known as the debt service tax rate, remained unchanged at $0.35.
The total tax rate is set at $1.3146 per $100 valuation, the lowest overall rate in seven years.
According to district officials, the tax rate was required to be lowered due to property values increasing within the district. Pate said the tax rate will decrease if property values increase, ensuring taxes collected are not raised significantly. Certified home values in RISD in 2022 were up 11.6% from the prior year, according to district officials.
Texas sets the operating tax rate annually for school districts based on a school finance formula that includes the number of students attending school each day and assessments of property values within a school district.
In addition, Pate said district staff and trustees are analyzing several factors as they begin developing a fiscal year 2023-24 operating budget, which the district plans to adopt in June.
"One of the important reasons to hold this budget discussion now is the [upcoming] legislative session," Superintendent Tabitha Branum said at the meeting.
The district is expected to face a projected shortfall of approximately $26 million, primarily due to a deficit budget adopted for FY 2021-22 that used some one-time funds to increase compensation for teachers and staff.
In addition, RISD and many school districts are requesting the state use a portion of the state’s surplus funding to increase the basic student allotment under the school finance system, according to Pate. If approved, this policy would lead to an increase in state funding for schools that are facing inflation and increased costs for items, such as energy, fuel, insurance and materials. The state has not increased the basic allotment for schools in four years.
