School Finance and Tax Impact
School Finance and Tax Impact
Embedded Files
The Long-Range Facility Plan, as developed by the Facilities Planning Committee and the Board, includes one bond proposition.
The total for this bond proposition is $24 million.
If approved, the estimated tax impact on a home with a taxable value of $100,000, the homeowner would see a school tax increase of $2.70 per month.
There will be no tax increase above the frozen level on the homestead of taxpayers 65 years of age and older who have applied for and received the “age 65 freeze of school homestead taxes.”
Projected Tax Impact for Various Home Values
Projected Tax Impact for Various Home Values
Impact for 65 Years of Age and Older
Impact for 65 Years of Age and Older
HCAD Exemption.mp4
Must apply for and receive the Over-65 Homestead Exemption
Fiscal Responsibility
Fiscal Responsibility
BISD recently implemented 3 bond refunding programs at a lower interest rate and paid down bond debt to reduce the cost of voter approved bonds which resulted in $4.39 million savings for District taxpayers.
Over the last few years, the District’s debt service tax rate has decreased from $0.33 to $0.28.
The state annually analyzes districts’ fiscal responsibility through the FIRST rating system to distinguish the level of a school district’s financial performance based on certain uniform criteria. Brownsboro ISD was assigned a FIRST Rating of “Superior Achievement” and the District’s score was 100 out of a possible 100.
Unlike many Texas school districts, the District has approved an additional residential homestead exemption equal to 20% of the assessed value. This residential homestead exemption lowers the taxable value of a taxpayer’s home for purposes of levying the District’s tax rate.
School Finance Information
Public school taxes involve two figures which divide the school district’s budget into two “buckets.”
The first is the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) budget, also known as the General Fund.
The M&O fund is used to pay for the day-to-day operations of a district and includes items such as salaries, utilities, food, gas, supplies, etc.
Approximately 80.5% of Brownsboro’s ISD’s M&O budget is spent on:
Personnel Salaries
Benefits
Daily Operations
Other related costs
The second is the Interest & Sinking (I&S) budget or Debt Service.
This fund is used to repay debt for capital improvements approved by voters through bond elections. As a comparison, this fund is similar to a mortgage or home improvement loan. I&S funds may only be used to repay debt. Proceeds from a bond issue can be used for the construction and renovation of facilities, the acquisition of land and the purchase of capital items, such as equipment, technology and transportation.
By law, I&S funds cannot be used for the M&O budget, which means voter-approved bonds cannot be used to increase salaries or to pay rising costs of utilities or services.
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