Following the 86th Texas Legislature's passage of House Bill 3, Fort Bend ISD said it was not longer moving forward with a June 3 public hearing to discuss a proposed tax rate for the 2019-20 school year or a tax ratification election.

At its board of trustees meeting May 15, school district administration told the board that a possible tax ratification election would be needed so the district could continue to fund priorities, including staff compensation increases and support for learners.

HB 3, which included school finance reform and funding for mandatory prekindergarten, was approved by the Texas Senate before the legislative session closed May 27. It now awaits the Gov. Greg Abbott's signature to become law.

“Following continued discussions with our business and finance department, we are confident that we will be able to adopt a budget for the 2019-20 school year that will allow us to fund the legislated pay increases for teachers and full-day PreK, as well as compensation increases for our other staff members that were not included in legislation,” FBISD Superintendent Charles Dupre said in a statement. “We are also hopeful the limited funding provided by House Bill 3 will enable us to allocate a portion of resources to support progress toward achieving district goals that were adopted by our Board of Trustees.”

Salaries and benefits make up the majority of Fort Bend ISD’s annual budget, administration said at the May 15 meeting.

The administration will present a budget update to the board during its regular board workshop scheduled for June 10. FBISD must adopt its 2019-20 budget by June 30.