Bastrop - Cedar Creek Edition | October 2025

Education

BY BROOKE SJOBERG

Teacher certication fair slated for Nov. 3 Bastrop ISD will hold an event to connect with people who are interested in teaching for the district, but who might not hold a teacher certication. What you need to know BISD oers a variety of pathways to the classroom, including clinical and residency student teaching, a fellowship program, a cultural exchange program and a transi- tional program to assist future educators in obtaining credentials via a state-approved alternative program. The details The event will be held Nov. 3 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at the Jerry Fay Wilhelm Performing Arts Center at 1401 Cedar St., Bastrop.

Bastrop ISD raties tax rate for FY 202526 Bastrop ISD ocials ratied a $1.0679 per $100 of valuation tax rate for scal year 2025-26 in September. This is the same rate as the previous nancial year, though it represents an eective 8.8% increase in collected revenue due to new legislation around school funding. BISD’s Chief Financial Ocer Mike White said the usual balance between local and state fund- ing did not apply this year because House Bill 2 increased state-directed funding without requiring a corresponding change in the local tax rate. What they’re saying If the district had a tax rate that raised the same amount of funding as the previous year, it would have had to cut its rate signicantly, White said. He said this would likely have a “catastrophic” impact on the school district.

“There’s a popular analogy of lling up a bucket or a glass. Your glass is dened by how many kids there are. Taxpayers make up a certain portion, the state lls up the rest of the glass. So those two

things kind of move hand in hand. One goes up, the other goes down ... In this case, this year, it doesn’t apply.” MIKE WHITE, BISD CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

The details The district’s tax rate is made up of two pieces, the maintenance and operations rate and interest and sinking rate. The M&O partially funds district operations with local property tax revenue, while the I&S rate services the district’s debt payments, such as bonds. The same total tax rate was approved for FY 2024-25—$1.0679 per $100 of valuation, made up of a $0.6669 M&O rate as well as a $0.4010 I&S rate.

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BASTROP CEDAR CREEK EDITION