Compared to the district’s 2017-18 budget, Humble ISD’s budget for the 2018-19 school year consists of a minimal increase in local revenue and a temporary rise in state revenue, both of which district officials attribute to Hurricane Harvey.

The HISD board of trustees unanimously adopted the $456 million budget at a special meeting June 19. The amount comprising property taxes and other local revenue in the budget’s general fund—which is used for district maintenance and operations—is about $185 million, which is 1 percent more than in the district’s 2017-18 budget, according to HISD budget documents.

This 1 percent rise is less than the increase the district normally experiences from year-to-year. For example, the amount budgeted for local revenue rose 11.47 percent between the district’s 2016-17 and 2017-18 budgets, according to HISD budget documents.

HISD Chief Financial Officer Mike Seale said the minimal increase occurred because property values within the district did not rise at the rate they normally increase. He said, on average, property values increase 6 percent annually, but this year they only rose 2 percent because Harvey disrupted the number of homes sold.

Seale said if property values had risen at the rate that they normally increase, the district’s local revenue for the budget would be about $8 million more than the $185.1 million budgeted.

The district was able to offset this smaller spike in local revenue with an increase in state revenue. This rise occurred because HISD was able to provide free or reduced meals to all of its students from the end of August through October after Harvey caused flooding within the district.

Seale said the state bases part of its funding on the number of students who receive free or reduced meals throughout the prior year. He said because the district was able to provide this service to all students for a period of time, the amount of funding the state allocated for this program is higher than usual this year.

“We have got about $6 million or $7 million of state revenue that we will have this year only, because we will go back to feeding the normal number of kids who qualify for free or reduced lunches,” Seale said.

Aside from these revenue changes, the 2018-19 budget also includes an average 2 percent raise for all staff members, funding to increase teachers’ starting salaries to $54,400 and the addition of 153 new staff positions, including eight police officers and security guards.

The district will adopt its 2018-19 tax rate in September or October, after the district receives its certified tax rolls from the Harris County Appraisal District, Seale said. The district plans to maintain its tax rate of $1.52 per $100 valuation, which was established in 2008, he said.