NISD Board proposes tax rate increase
NISD Communications Department
August 6, 2008
The Northside ISD Board of Trustees has proposed increasing the District's tax rate by 4 cents to generate additional revenue to help pay for enrollment growth, teacher raises, and inflation.
The additional 4 cents on the tax rate is needed because funding from the state has been stagnant the last two years and will not increase unless the Legislature takes action on school finance in the upcoming 2009 legislative session, Superintendent John Folks said.
"The state has made no provisions for inflation, the increase in the cost of fuel and utilities, salary raises, or the many unfunded mandates passed by the Legislature," Folks said.
Residents can comment on the proposed tax rate increase and the 2008-09 budget at a public hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 19, in the Board Room, 5900 Evers Road.
If Trustees approve the new tax rate at the Aug. 26 Board meeting, the District's tax rate would increase from $1.2625 to $1.3025 per $100 of assessed property value. That means annual school property taxes for the owner of a $150,000 house with a $15,000 homestead exemption will increase $54, from $1,704 to $1,758.
The increase in the tax rate will generate an additional $24.8 million in revenue for the District. Half the money will come from local property taxes and the other half will come from the state.
A school district's tax rate is made up of two parts - Maintenance and Operations (M&O) and Interest and Sinking (I&S). The M&O portion of the tax rate funds the day-to-day operations of a school district including salaries. The I&S tax rate funds capital improvements like new schools and renovations. For the 2008-09 school year, Northside's I&S tax rate will be more than 5 cents lower than what was projected when voters passed School Bond 2007.
In 2006, the Legislature mandated that all school districts reduce their M&O tax rate to $1 but authorized school boards to increase the tax rate by up to 4 cents without voter approval. Up until now, Northside ISD was the only school district in Bexar County that had not increased the M&O tax rate beyond $1.
"We were lucky to be able to hold off on increasing the tax rate as long as we did, but with the current school funding system, something had to give," Folks said. "I want to assure our taxpayers that we will continue to be responsible stewards of their money."
Voter approval is required to increase the tax rate over $1.04, to a maximum of $1.17.
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