Lake Travis ISD OKs $153M budget, proposes lowest tax rate in district history

Homeowners in Lake Travis ISD may see an increase in their tax bill this year, despite the district proposing a lower tax rate.

The LTISD board of trustees approved the fiscal year 2026-27 budget and discussed the proposed tax rate at a June 17 meeting.

The overview

The budget was approved at $152.7 million, $1.8 million higher than the FY 2025-26 budget.

“That's mainly attributed to the increase in state recapture to capture that property value growth while our enrollment is decreasing slightly,” Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Pam Sanchez said.

The budget includes the following:

• A general fund with $150.96 million in revenues and $152.7 million in expenditures, resulting in a projected $1.2 million shortfall
• A food service fund of $7.17 million in revenues and $6.91 million in expenditures, resulting in a balanced budget
• A debt service fund with $63.7 million in revenues and $63.56 million in expenditures, resulting in a balanced budget

LTISD outlines expenditures by function, excluding state recapture, which accounts for more than $36.6 million of total expenditures. The largest expenditure by function is instruction, representing approximately 60% of district spending.

A closer look

The proposed tax rate for FY 2026-27 is $1.0329 per $100 valuation, a slight decrease from the previous rate of $1.0397. This includes a maintenance and operations rate of $0.7054 per $100 valuation and an interest and sinking rate of $0.3275. This is the lowest tax rate in district history, according to Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Pam Sanchez.

Maintenance and operations tax revenue funds daily operations, such as teacher salaries, and are subject to recapture. Interest and sinking taxes are used to pay for bond debt and are not subject to recapture. LTISD has not adjusted the I&S rate since FY 2020-21.

While the proposed rate is lower than the previous fiscal year, homeowners may pay more in school district taxes due to increased property values. A homeowner of a property with the average taxable value of $579,691 could expect to pay $5,988 in taxes, according to district documents. This is approximately a $300 increase from FY 2025-26, or 5.12%.

What’s next

LTISD will receive certified property values from the appraisal district in July. At that time, district officials will submit those values to the Texas Education Agency to determine the maximum compressed rate. The board will adopt the FY 2026-27 tax rate at an August 19 meeting.