Education
BY VALERIA ESCOBAR
RIGHT WHERE
Temporary tax hike would fund Fort Bend ISD raises
Fort Bend ISD officials say a temporary 7-cent tax increase per $100 of taxable property value would enable the district to fund raises excluded from the state’s $8.5 billion public education budget for 2025-27 biennium. However, the district is pro- jected to face a shortfall once the one-year “disaster pennies” measure expires ahead of the 2026-27 school year, Chief Finan- cial Officer Bryan Guinn said at a June 9 agenda review meeting. The proposal During the 89th Texas Legisla- ture, Guinn said FBISD received $40 million to fund raises through 2027, including $2,500 for teachers with three to five years of experience and $5,000 for teachers with more than five years of experience. Outside of state funds, the raises for staff not covered by House Bill 2—including first-year teachers and support staff—rely on the temporary use of the seven disaster pennies in the tax rate—a one-time board-approved tax increase allowed by the state following Hurricane Beryl in 2024, Guinn said.
What they’re saying The use of disaster pennies helps the district end the 2025-26 school year with a $7.5 million surplus, maintaining its 90-day reserve, Guinn said. However, with the expiration of disaster penny revenue for the 2026-27 school year, district officials project a $26.2 million shortfall and a drop to a 78-day operating reserve, below the board’s thresh- old, Guinn said. Many trustees raised concern that, like relief funds granted after the start of the pandemic, these emergency pennies are temporary and will not sustain long-term compensation plans. “This is a one-year fix—just like [the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund] was,” trustee Angie Hanan said. “What happens after the disaster pennies are gone?” Moving ahead Superintendent Marc Smith said the district is already working on strategies to mitigate the projected shortfall for the 2026-27 school year, including analyzing vacant positions, trimming administrative costs and reevalu- ating long-term financial plans.
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Fort Bend ISD disaster pennies fund breakdown A temporary hike of $0.07 per $100 in taxable property value will raise $35.7 million in usable revenue in the 2025-26 school year after recapture. One-time $1,200 supplement
Employee health benefits fund*
Surplus
Two wellness days per staff Increase starting teacher pay to $63,000
$35.7M in usable revenue
New Homes from the Low $300s-Million+
$150 employee referral $5,000 new-hire signing bonus $250 per semester bus driver perfect attendance
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*REOCCURRING FUND TO BE PROPOSED
SOURCE: FORT BEND ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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