The tax rate is set to cover staff raises not subsidized by state legislators, an increased student enrollment of about 500 students and the opening of two new elementary schools during the 2025-26 school year, officials previously said.
“Our goal is to ensure that every dollar spent continues to support student success while maintaining the financial health of our district,” Katy ISD board President Lance Redmon said in a Sept. 22 news release.
Digging deeper
The total tax rate of $1.1171 per $100 of property valuation remains unchanged since the 2023-24 school year.
Chief Financial Officer Chris Smith said the adopted rate is divided into two components:
- maintenance and operations, or M&O, rate of $0.73 based on the state formula that changes depending on property value growth, and 5 cents of voter-approved “enrichment pennies” that are not subject to state confiscation
- interest and sinking, or I&S, rate of $0.39 for bond-related debt service
During the 88th legislative session, lawmakers set aside $12.6 billion to reduce local tax rates, cutting local revenue by about 24%, and increased the state’s share of school funding, Community Impact reported.
Important to note
Trustee Morgan Calhoun raised questions to clarify confusion surrounding the phrase "effectively a 1.54% increase in the tax rate" in the board’s resolution. Smith said under Texas law, the “effective tax rate” is a benchmark used to calculate the rate needed to generate the same revenue as the previous year, based on updated property values.
Due to changes in homestead exemptions and fluctuating property valuations, he said KISD’s effective tax rate increased, even though the actual tax rate did not.
Moving forward
The tax rate is effective immediately, per district documents.
