BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD ACCEPTS TAX RATE, BUDGET
The Brenham school board voted to adopt the new budget and tax rate at Monday night’s regular meeting.
No one came forward during the public hearing, so the board voted to adopt the budget for general operating purposes, as well as a resolution setting the tax rate. The $44 million budget is about 2.2 percent higher than last year’s. Most of the increase comes from the 2.5 percent midpoint salary increase, approved earlier this year.
While the tax rates remained the same, the district will see an increase of about $1.3 million in local tax revenue. This is due to property values going up on average of about 3.1 percent across the county. The maintenance and operations rate remained the same as last year, at $1.04 per $100 valuation, and the debt service rate stayed at $0.085.
The board also discussed the recently released district and campus accountability ratings. Director of Assessment and Accountability Mark Strauss spoke on Brenham’s “C” grade from the Texas Education Association, and how the district was three decimal points away from being rounded up to a “B” grade. He also mentioned that the letter grade system will be applied to individual campuses as well as districts next year.
Strauss also noted that each campus in Brenham ISD met the state standard, and that they received seven distinction designations, compared to 14 in 2017.
The board also received updates on campus security and construction from Assistant Superintendent Paul Aschenbeck. For security, he reported that all campuses have shored up their entry procedures, and he mentioned the launch of the new CrisisGO reporting system. He also said that security drills will be performed more often this school year.
Aschenbeck stated that most of the renovations at Krause Elementary School are complete, with some minor work left that he expects to be done by the end of the week. He mentioned that the shelving and carpeting still needs to be done at the Early Childhood Learning Center Library, and that the Alton playground project has suffered a slight delay.
Summer School Principal LaKesha Morgan gave a rundown of Brenham Elementary’s summer school program. She reported that 120 students took part in academic summer school, with 145 participating in the JAM summer enrichment program.
The board also accepted a total of $12,700 in local donations. GeoSouthern Energy Partners LP donated $11,500 to Brenham High School’s math department for Chromebooks and carts, and Dr. Kenneth and Paula Moerbe donated $1,200 for student meal changes.