On Aug. 6, Lone Star College System’s board of trustees unanimously approved a balanced $577.5 million budget for fiscal year 2026-27, which features 2% raises for full- and part-time employees.
The gist
According to Aug. 7 meeting documents, the FY 2026-27 budget featured employee pay raises of:
- 2% increase for all full-time employees hired on or before March 31
- 2% bump for part-time hourly, non-instructional employees, except for student assistants and college work-study participants
- 2% more for adjunct faculty, who are paid per contact hour
Diving in deeper
LSCS’ FY 2026-27 budget features $577.5 million in both revenues and expenditures, according to meeting documents.
“We’re very thankful that this budget is built on strong financial foundations,” said Kristy Vienne, LSCS chief financial officer and vice chancellor of finance and administration, via the Aug. 6 news release. “This balanced budget maintains our operational needs while positioning the system to invest in initiatives that will advance student success, workforce development, employee excellence and long-term institutional resilience.”
According to LSCS budget documents, some of the largest differences when comparing last year’s FY 2025-26 budget to the FY 2026-27 budget include:
- $18.5 million in additional funding from local taxes for FY 2026-27
- $7 million more in state revenue for FY 2026-27
Looking ahead
The preliminary total tax rate for FY 2026-27 is $0.1058 per $100 valuation, which is $0.0002 lower than the current FY 2025-26 total tax rate of $0.106, according to Aug. 6 budget workshop documents. Therefore, some taxpayers within the Harris Central Appraisal District are expected to see a drop in the LSCS portion of their annual property tax bill for FY 2026-27 compared to FY 2025-26.
However, some taxpayers within the Montgomery Central Appraisal District and the San Jacinto County Appraisal District are expected to see higher FY 2026-27 property tax bills, since the median property value increased year over year, according to meeting documents.
Vienne said, via an Aug. 6 email statement, that even though LSCS' preliminary tax rate is lower, taxpayers could still have a higher tax bill if:
- The taxpayer’s home or land value increases
- The taxpayer loses a property tax exemption
- The property value has exceeded the 10% appraisal cap
LSCS trustees are slated to consider the FY 2026-27 total tax rate in October, Vienne said during the Aug. 6 meeting.
Some context
On April 2, trustees approved unchanged tuition rates for the 2026-27 school year, as previously reported by Community Impact. LSCS’ rates are:
- $111 per credit hour for in-district students
- $249 per credit hour for out-of-district students
- $313 per credit hour for out-of-state/international students
- $43 per credit hour for dual credit students
LSCS last raised the fees in March 2024, as previously reported. The new tuition rates were expected to bring in an additional $10.1 million in revenue.
