BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD CALLS NOVEMBER TAX RATE, BOND ELECTIONS

  

Families in Brenham ISD will have a say this fall in funding employee pay raises and improvements to district facilities and infrastructure.

The Brenham School Board on Tuesday unanimously called two elections in November.  One is for the ratification of a voter approval tax rate that would translate to approximately $2.5 million in new local and state revenue for the district’s maintenance and operations budget for the purpose of improving pay for teachers and staff members.  The other is for a $39 million bond election that will not impact the district’s interest and sinking (I&S) tax rate, but would go toward covering capital maintenance projects.

The decision to call the elections came after members of Brenham ISD’s strategic planning committee came forward to present their recommendations to the board, as well as two other members who voiced their support for the measures during public comment. 

Katie Burch, one of the facilitators for the committee meetings, said the committee met with principals at each campus, consulted past facility studies and reviewed comments from previous bond issues that did not pass to develop a large list of maintenance projects across the district, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing and other items.  The list also grades them in priority, ranging from minor to immediate need. 

Burch said the $39 million bond consists of what the committee overwhelmingly agreed were necessities.  She added that the proceeds will not cover all of the district’s important projects, but they will make inroads in avoiding having to dip into the maintenance and operations budget or the fund balance.

Steve Perry, Brenham ISD’s financial advisor, told trustees that Brenham ISD has the debt capacity for a $39 million bond without raising the I&S rate, projecting a 5 percent interest rate and 5 percent taxable value growth for the next three years.  Perry said the district’s I&S rate of $0.08 per $100 valuation is among the lowest in the state, and he acknowledged the possibility of the Federal Reserve reducing interest rates.

As for the tax rate election, the district is allowed – with board approval – to take the maximum compressed rate provided by the Texas Education Agency, which this year is $0.6084 per $100, and add up to five cents.  Another three cents can be added with voter approval, so the district is seeking to adopt a maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate of $0.6884 per $100, bringing the total rate to be voted on up to $0.7684 per $100 with the $0.08 from I&S.  The previous year’s tax rate was $0.7469 per $100; Chief Financial Officer Darrell St. Clair said tax compression is the reason for the new tax rate not being a full three cents above the old rate. 

Destiny Andrews, another member of the strategic planning committee, said Brenham ISD has the right people, but it needs the right conditions to fully support them, and those include both the physical environment and the resources provided to them.  She said the district must go beyond what the state has allocated for pay raises in order to retain high-quality instructors. 

Burch acknowledged that some on the committee felt that more needed to be done right now with the junior high campus, and while everyone agreed that action is needed there, what shape that takes still needs more open discussion with the public.  Trustees encouraged Burch and the committee to keep working to identify future needs, including the possibility of another campus. 

Burch noted that her involvement with the strategic planning committee is separate from her professional role with PlanNorth Architectural Company, and that the company will not bid on any projects associated with the bond.

Board President Jared Krenek thanked the members of the committee for their time and research.  Trustee Justin Colley, who was a part of the committee, said it is doing its best to learn from the past and invest into the future.  Trustee Kyle Hafner, also a committee member, said he hopes the committee can come up with a plan very soon for the next facilities to address.  Trustee Shawn Koonce brought up the saying of kicking the can down the road and said that, based off of the committee’s findings, “there is no more road,” so the district needs to take bold steps to move forward as a community.