Financial implications Through a voter-approval tax rate election, Fort Bend ISD would address a $47 million budget de cit, along with additional compensation adjustments and programming.
Should a VATRE be approved, FBISD will invest across the following areas: NEW INVESTMENTS
BUDGET BREAKDOWN
If the VATRE is approved, the district would earn an additional $47.7 million in revenue and bridge a $47 million shortfall. FBISD will still need to make up future de cits.
Providing o cers at every elementary campus
Revenues
New VATRE revenue New investments
Increasing teacher pay by an additional $500
Expenditures
TAX RATE HISTORY
2022 23 AMENDED BUDGET
Should voters approve a $0.0755 VATRE in November, FBISD’s rate would remain equal to the current rate of $1.2101 per $100 valuation, though residents would still see a tax bill increase due to an increase in property values.
Increasing pay to auxiliary and paraprofessionals by 5%
+$47.7M
$721.2M
Total revenue: $768.9M
+$9M
Contributing to district health fund
Interest & sinking rate
Maintenance & operations rate
$768M
Annual tax bill increase on average property value
Total expenditures: $777M
Adding employee longevity pay
NO VATRE VATRE 2022-23 $208 $45
$1.50
Total revenue: $790.2M 2023 24 FORECAST $740.9M
+$51.3M
SOURCE: FORT BEND ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
$1.20
+$15.2M
$797.9M
$0.90
The new tax rate would maintain the current rate of $1.2101 per $100 of assessed property value, if approved. A VATRE is required because the dis- trict would have otherwise only been allowed to approve up to a tax rate of $1.1546, per the Texas Tax Code. However, because average tax- able property values have increased since last year, residents will still pay higher taxes, Guinn said. Should a VATRE be approved, the average resident would see a $208 increase on their annual property tax bill, according to district documents. However, Texas’ public school funding model does not allow dis- tricts to recoup the full bene t of rising property values, FBISD Superintendent Christie Whitbeck said at the Aug. 15 meeting. That plays a part in why a VATRE is neces- sary, district o cials said. “This is a myth that people think the school district gets that money,” Whitbeck said. “If we get more [property tax] money, then the state gives us less, so it’s equaled out.” The district would earn an addi- tional $47.7 million in revenue in its general fund with the VATRE. That would be used to bridge the district’s FY 2022-23 budget shortfall and allow FBISD to save ESSER funds to pay for other investments, includ- ing hiring more police o cers and increasing teacher pay. However, district o cials said even with more revenue, the district will still need to cut $23 million a year starting in the 2023-24 school year. “We do have work that we would still continue to do to reduce our expenditures ... to maintain a budget that maintains the 90-day operating reserve as required by board policy,”
Total expenditures: $790.1M *
$0.60
2024 25 FORECAST
+52.7M
$0.30
$751.7M
Total revenue: $802.4M
+15.4M
0
$825.5M
Total expenditures: $817.9M *
*EXPENDITURES INCLUDE $23 MILLION BUDGET REDUCTION COMMITMENT
SOURCE: FORT BEND ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
[Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief] funding, and we would then fall below our 90-day operating fund balance,” FBISD Finance Director Bryan Guinn said. When the FBISD board of trustees unanimously approved the district’s $768 million budget for FY 2022-23 on June 20, that approval included a $47 million budget shortfall that was o set using the district’s existing reserve and $27 million in one-time federal ESSER funds. Of that de cit, $26 million is attributed to an enroll- ment shortage. Enrollment projections from demographic rm Population and Survey Analysts show in 2021-2022, FBISD was below projections by about 2,853 students. Still, FBISD earmarked facility bond projects around projections that enrollment growth would continue unabated over the next several years with some areas facing overcrowding, Bassett said. The Ridge Point feeder pattern, which includes Schi , Sienna Cross- ing and Heritage Rose elemen- tary schools, faces overcrowding, according to a February PASA report. Sienna Crossing and Heritage Rose with capacities of 1,010 and 1,134,
respectively, are projected to have 1,220 and 4,450 students living in their boundaries by 2031. “With the Heritage Rose over- crowding, if we add up all of the stu- dents projected to live in that area, ... [they] will exceed the capacity by 3,300 students in 10 years,” PASA President Stacey Tepera said at a Feb. 14 board meeting. The need for more space in these areas was highlighted in the bond initially set for 2022. It joins facil- ity needs earmarked in aging schools such as Clements High School along with Mission Bend and Briargate elementary schools. The young- est—Clements—is nearing 40 years old, per the district’s website. However, though overcrowding and aging facilities remain important to FBISD, district o cials said focus- ing on a tax rate election will have short- and long-term nancial e ects If approved, the VATRE propo- sition coming before FBISD voters Nov. 8 would result in a $0.0755 tax rate increase. It is the rst time the district has asked for voter approval of a tax rate increase, Bassett said. as it looks to the future. Financial implications
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providing o cers at every elementary school campus, district o cials said. “Just given the economic cli- mate and everything, I agree with the assessment from both the Bond Oversight Committee and the leader- ship team that the VATRE is the pri- ority,” Trustee David Hamilton said. However, delaying the bond until May 2023 marks the second time several bond projects have been pushed back, including new schools, safety and security upgrades, school rebuilds and technology updates. As FBISD focuses on a tax rate election to address its budget de cit, the district will need to grapple with how to address its growing needs, especially regarding school over- crowding and aging facilities. Addressing needs Despite the district’s needs that a November bond would begin to address, a tax rate election is an ave- nue that must be pursued if FBISD is to remain on top of its budget and prevent a future bankruptcy, o cials said. “At the end of this school year, if no VATRE, we will have used all of our
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