Clear Creek ISD tax rate to reduce significantly due to rise in property values

The Clear Creek ISD fiscal year 2022-23 tax rate is set to be adopted on Sept. 19 at $1.1346, a reduction of $0.0451 from the previous year.

Under the new tax rate revealed at an Aug. 8 board meeting, the owner of a $300,000 home would pay about $3,404 in property taxes to CCISD, a reduction of about $135 from the approved FY 2021-22 tax rate of $1.1797.

The Texas Education Agency approved the maximum compressed tax rate for FY 2022-23 on July 27 after the district received certified tax values from appraisal districts July 25. This new information caused the projected tax rate from a June 27 meeting to decline to the new rate.

According to Chief Financial Officer Alice Benzaia, taxable property values increased to $31.9 billion from last year’s $28.6 billion, a 12% increase year over year. She said the state mandates that any 2.5% increase in property values must result in a reduction in the district’s tax rate.

The district continues to face budgetary shortfalls due to an enrollment drop caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a presentation from Benzaia, which showed that overall enrollment is not expected to change from the previous year. She said a budget deficit of $9.2 million will be covered by a transfer from the district’s capital and contingency fund.

This year’s expenditures are higher due to rising inflation, according to the presentation, which indicated that inflation is up 12.4% since September 2019.

Additionally, Benzaia said average daily attendance for the district is assumed to reach 94.5% in the coming school year. In a previous interview, Benzaia said the pre-COVID-19 average daily attendance was 95.5%, and that each average daily attendance percentage point increase would boost state funding by $3.3 million per year.

"There's not a lot of cushion built into the budget," Benzaia said.