SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES TAX RATE AND BUDGET

  

The Brenham School Board formally approved the budget and tax rate at last night’s meeting.  The tax rate will remain the same at a dollar thirteen and a half cent per $100 valuation.  One cent of the tax rate is being shifted from debt service to maintenance and operations…but the overall rate remains the same.

Director of Business and Finance Kim Horne presented the budget for the upcoming school year, which she said her office has been working on since January.  Total expenditures for the school district are expected to be $38,974,952.  That’s a 3.1 percent increase over last year’s budget.  Horne explains the increases in this year’s budget:

Only one person commented on the budget during the public hearing portion of the meeting.  Jerry Homan stated that he supported both the tax rate and budget, but he encouraged board members to increase the teacher pay more than the 2.5 percent.  He said the district is losing too many qualified teachers to nearby districts that pay more.

The board also received and update from J.P. Grom of LAN Associates on the construction at Alton Elementary and the Middle school.  Grom assured the board that the campuses will be ready for students on the first day of school Monday.  He said the campuses are currently going through their final occupancy inspections.

Bonnie Brinkmeyer, Director of Instruction and Accountability, reported to the board on the ratings the Brenham Schools achieved in the past school year.  As a whole, the Brenham District was rated “Met Standard”.  Seven of the district’s eight campuses were rated “Met Standard” while Alton Elementary was the only campus to be rated “Improvement Required”.  The ratings are largely based on the STARS test results.

In other action, the board approved the budget for the County Appraisal District.  Chief Appraiser, Willy Dilworth requested an 8.4 percent increase over last year’s budget.  He stated that most of the increase is for adding one more staff member to bringing his staff to 14.  He stated that the new Compliance Officer’s position is needed to keep up with the regulations that the Appraisal District is required to comply with.

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