Fort Bend ISD board members were presented with the state-required efficiency audit in preparation for the Nov. 7 vote on Proposition A, the district's voter-approval tax rate election proposal of $0.04 per $100 valuation, which would increase the tax rate to $0.9892 for fiscal year 2023-24.

The context

Prior to conducting the election, all public school districts must undergo a third-party efficiency audit, per House Bill 3, a 2019 state law during the 86th Legislature in 2019. The Legislative Budget Board governs the audit and VATRE processes for the state.

During an Oct. 2 meeting, the board heard a presentation by Whitley Penn, the firm the district hired for the audit.

Meeting highlights


The audit measured the district’s performance for the following functions:
  • Financial management
  • Staffing efficiency
  • Identifying peer districts
  • Comparisons to peer districts
The analysis revealed six of FBISD’s 13 peer districts in Texas are in the Houston region and are listed as follows:
  • Aldine ISD
  • Conroe ISD
  • Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
  • Katy ISD
  • Klein ISD
  • Pasadena ISD
Zooming in

When compared to those peer districts, the audit revealed FBISD performed favorably in the existing version of the Texas Education Agency Accountability Rating System.

Academic:
  • The district received a B grade for 2021-22; peer districts scored a B.
  • The district scored 89 out of 100; peer districts scored 87 out of 100.
Financial:
  • FBISD achieved an A rating for 2021-22.
  • The A rating denotes “superior achievement” by the TEA.
  • FBISD has earned an A rating each year since 2016.
Staffing:
  • FBISD spent 84.7% of funding on staffing, while peer districts spent 82.5%.
  • FBISD spent $65,212 as an average teacher salary, while peer districts spent $62,081.
  • FBISD has a rate of 15.3 students per teaching staff, while peer districts have 14.7.
What else?

Now that FBISD has completed the audit to comply with state law, the public will have the opportunity to learn more about Proposition A in the run-up to the November election.


While the Texas Legislature has announced that it will convene in special session beginning Oct. 9, the district cautions voters that the results of that session do not negate the need for the tax rate increase.

“It is important for our public to realize that TEA is communicating the $17.6B as 'New State Share Increases for Public Education.' While this is factual, it is misleading to the average taxpayer. These investments do not result in any new money for school districts,” according to the website.