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Friendswood ISD’s board of trustees approved a balanced budget and lower tax rate for fiscal year 2026-27 at its Aug. 24 workshop.
The budget represents a nearly 4% increase from FY 2025-26 and accounts for approved staff raises, stipends and other compensation adjustments.
What residents need to know
The district approved a tax rate of $1.0249 per $100 valuation of a home, or nearly 0.5% lower than last year’s rate of $1.03 per $100 valuation of a home.
The rate combines $0.7818 for maintenance and operations, or M&O, which pays for daily operations, and $0.2431 for interest and sinking, or I&S, which pays bond debt, according to budget documents.
Based on that rate, a homeowner with a median homestead taxable value of $424,611 would have an estimated annual property tax bill of about $4,350, budget documents show.
Budget explained
The budget includes nearly $70.4 million for both revenues and expenses, resulting in a balanced budget for FY 2026-27, documents show.
Instructional services account for a little over 70.2% of the budget, an increase of about $2.6 million from FY 2025-26, documents show.
Compared to FY 2025-26, both revenue and expenses have increased by about 4%, district documents show.
Some context
At a March 23 workshop, district officials initially projected a $3.3 million surplus, as previously reported by Community Impact.
The board later approved a compensation plan that resulted in the budget balancing. The plan includes a 2% raise for all staff, along with hourly pay increases of $0.75 for bus drivers and monitors and $1 for custodians at its May 11 meeting.
The plan also includes a one-time salary supplement totaling about $134,000 for eligible non-teaching professional staff, including instructional coaches, specialists and designated campus support roles such as Admission, Review and Dismissal, or ARD, facilitators and nurses.
Trustees also approved three stipends:
Compared with FY 2025-26, salary expenses have increased by nearly $3 million and make up nearly 84% of the FY 2026-27 budget, according to district documents.
