BURTON SCHOOL BOARD MEETS WITH WASHINGTON CO. CHIEF APPRAISER TO DISCUSS TAX NUMBERS
The Burton School Board held a brief discussion with the Washington County Chief Appraiser at its virtual meeting Monday to talk about property values and the district’s tax rate.
Chief Appraiser Willy Dilworth told the board that values this year are going to be up slightly from last year, but he is still unsure of how the increase will affect the school and its tax rate this year. He said he is worried that next year’s mineral values will decrease, saying a lot of the new value seen this year was oil-field related.
Dilworth said the Washington County Appraisal District is still wrapping its head around all of the effects of Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 3 from the 86th Legislature, but he suspects the district’s tax rate will drop slightly again. He said the district should be able to finalize tax numbers soon, and expects it to propose a tax rate by mid-July.
Superintendent Dr. Edna Kennedy said tax numbers are “a big unknown” for many school districts. She said the district visits with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Region VI, the district’s service center, multiple times a week, and each time she and other district officials come back with “more questions and more unknowns”.
Dr. Kennedy said the district is projecting a budget based on being at the exact same place as it was last year, with no increase in taxes collected or district expenditures, to be on the safe side. She said the district will meet with its auditor and Region VI next week to further discuss its expected revenues and expenditures and fine-tune numbers.
Dr. Kennedy also discussed the TEA’s recent proposal for districts to make adjustments to their school year calendar. She said at this time, Burton ISD intends to keep its current calendar and will make any adjustments needed once students are back in school.
Also at Monday’s meeting, the board:
- Voted to hire Jeremy Johnston as an assistant principal, and to rehire Kurt Ramsey as an English teacher and coach.
- Approved an annual agreement to allow Washington County Extension Agents to serve as adjunct staff for students who participate in activities such as the Washington County Fair.