NISD trustees approve largest property tax rate drop among Bexar County districts
NISD Communications Department
September 1, 2006
[b][i]Debt portion of tax rate reduced to same level as when voters approved '04 bond[/i][/b]
Northside ISD, the largest school district in Bexar County, also has the largest property tax rate decrease among San Antonio area districts.
The Northside Board of Trustees voted this week to lower the District's tax rate from $1.775 to $1.5925 per $100 of property value, a decrease of 18.25 cents.
"This is great news for Northside residents," Superintendent John Folks said. "We feel really good about dropping our tax rate this much."
School district property tax rates are composed of two parts: the maintenance and operation, or M&O rate, and the interest and sinking, or I&S rate, which is typically used to pay off bond debt.
The District’s I&S rate has dropped from 27.5 cents to 26.25 cents, which puts the I&S rate at the same level it was when voters approved the 2004 bond issue.
When voters passed the $439 million bond issue in 2004, district officials estimated the I&S portion of the tax rate would rise to 34.45 cents. However, the District's efforts to refinance its bond debt at lower interest rates, coupled with an increase in property values, have prevented the increase of the I&S tax rate.
Altogether, in the past two years, NISD taxpayers have saved more than $85 million in payments on bond debt.
On the M&O side of the tax rate, Northside's rate will drop from $1.50 to $1.33, as all school districts are required to do because of the passage of House Bill 1 earlier this year. Districts are allowed to access an additional 4 cents without voter approval to increase the M&O tax rate to $1.37.
Northside is the only district in Bexar County not accessing any additional pennies.
"As Trustees," says Randall Fields, School Board President, "we are entrusted to make the very best instructional decisions for all the children in NISD. We are also entrusted to make sound fiscal decisions. I think the Northside ISD community can be very proud of what its elected School Board has done."
The district's healthy finances are the result of some tough decisions made by NISD leaders over the past few years, said George Torres, Deputy Superintendent for Business and Financial Services. In 2003-04, salaries were frozen and the budget was cut to save about $22.7 million, and last year, the District saved $15 million by making scheduling changes at the secondary schools.
"The combination has put us financially in a position where we don’t need to access the four additional pennies," Torres said. "We've done a responsible job of managing the tax rate."
Added Folks: "We made some pretty serious decisions in the past few years and put ourselves to be in a better financial position."
Keeping the tax rate low is even more challenging for a large, fast-growth district, Torres said. NISD opened four new elementary schools this year and will open eight more new schools in the next two years.
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